CODEWITHSUNDEEP
vb.netenumsextension-methods
user2233219
user2233219

Reputation:

How to create an extension method for any type of Enum array in VB.Net

Below is the code I have but the method is not available on Enum arrays. I can't work out what I'm doing wrong. Note that I'm unable to test the line Array.ConvertAll until I have this method available on Enum arrays.

Public Module EnumExtensions

    <Extension()>
    Function ValuesToString(Source As [Enum]()) As String()

        Dim EnumType = Source.GetType()
        If Not EnumType.IsEnum Then Return Nothing

        Return Array.ConvertAll(Source, Function(x) x.ToString)

    End Function

End Module

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1196

Answers (1)

jmcilhinney
jmcilhinney

Reputation: 54457

As I said in my comment, you could just call Select and ToArray as needed. If you really want an extension though, you would need to make your method generic:

<Extension>
Public Function ToStrings(Of T)(source As T()) As String()
    'If Not GetType(T).IsEnum Then
    '    Return Nothing
    'End If

    Return Array.ConvertAll(source, Function(e) e.ToString())
End Function

There's no generic constraint that can limit that method to be called on just an array of Enum values so you can use an If statement to either return Nothing or throw an exception. I don't really see the point though, as it really doesn't hurt if you allow the same method to be called on another array of any other type anyway.

Upvotes: 2

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