CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#
user1784014
user1784014

Reputation: 244

IEnumerable with unknown type

I have a mapping class that contains a mapping of custom objects:

public class MappingType
{
    public Type source {get;set;}
    public Type dest {get;set;}
}

Why is it I can't use them as below (mappinglist is object of MappingType)?

IEnumerable<mappinglist[0].source,mappinglist[0].dest> customlist;

What are my options? How can I use it in such context?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1560

Answers (1)

Eric J.
Eric J.

Reputation: 150228

The C# generics system works for types known at compile time. You cannot provide types known only at runtime as type parameters.

Additionally, as @JonSkeet points out, IEnumerable<T> only takes one type parameter.

If your types have anything in common (shared base class, shared interface) you can use that "thing in common" with generics, e.g.

IEnumerable<ISomeSharedInterface> customList;

If they have nothing in common, you can still use the non-generic IEnumerable.

Upvotes: 2

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