Is it possible to implement mixins in C#?

Question

I\'ve heard that it\'s possible with extension methods, but I can\'t quite figure it out myself. I\'d like to see a specific example if possible.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I've found a workaround here, which while not entirely elegant, allows you to achieve fully observable mixin behavior. Additionally, IntelliSense still works!

using System;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices; //needed for ConditionalWeakTable
public interface MAgeProvider // use 'M' prefix to indicate mixin interface
{
    // nothing needed in here, it's just a 'marker' interface
}
public static class AgeProvider // implements the mixin using extensions methods
{
    static ConditionalWeakTable table;
    static AgeProvider()
    {
        table = new ConditionalWeakTable();
    }
    private sealed class Fields // mixin's fields held in private nested class
    {
        internal DateTime BirthDate = DateTime.UtcNow;
    }
    public static int GetAge(this MAgeProvider map)
    {
        DateTime dtNow = DateTime.UtcNow;
        DateTime dtBorn = table.GetOrCreateValue(map).BirthDate;
        int age = ((dtNow.Year - dtBorn.Year) * 372
                   + (dtNow.Month - dtBorn.Month) * 31
                   + (dtNow.Day - dtBorn.Day)) / 372;
        return age;
    }
    public static void SetBirthDate(this MAgeProvider map, DateTime birthDate)
    {
        table.GetOrCreateValue(map).BirthDate = birthDate;
    }
}

public abstract class Animal
{
    // contents unimportant
}
public class Human : Animal, MAgeProvider
{
    public string Name;
    public Human(string name)
    {
        Name = name;
    }
    // nothing needed in here to implement MAgeProvider
}
static class Test
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Human h = new Human("Jim");
        h.SetBirthDate(new DateTime(1980, 1, 1));
        Console.WriteLine("Name {0}, Age = {1}", h.Name, h.GetAge());
        Human h2 = new Human("Fred");
        h2.SetBirthDate(new DateTime(1960, 6, 1));
        Console.WriteLine("Name {0}, Age = {1}", h2.Name, h2.GetAge());
        Console.ReadKey();
    }
}