How can I get the correct text definition of a generic type using reflection?

Question

I am working on code generation and ran into a snag with generics. Here is a \"simplified\" version of what is causing me issues.

Dictionary

        

Answer 1

This evening I was toying a bit with extension methods and I tried to find an answer for your question. Here is the result: it's a no-warranty code. ;-)

internal static class TypeHelper
{
    private const char genericSpecialChar = '`';
    private const string genericSeparator = ", ";

    public static string GetCleanName(this Type t)
    {
        string name = t.Name;
        if (t.IsGenericType)
        {
            name = name.Remove(name.IndexOf(genericSpecialChar));
        }
        return name;
    }

    public static string GetCodeDefinition(this Type t)
    {
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        sb.AppendFormat("{0}.{1}", t.Namespace, t.GetCleanName());
        if (t.IsGenericType)
        {
            var names = from ga in t.GetGenericArguments()
                        select GetCodeDefinition(ga);
            sb.Append("<");
            sb.Append(string.Join(genericSeparator, names.ToArray()));
            sb.Append(">");
        }
        return sb.ToString();
    }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        object[] testCases = { 
                                new Dictionary(),
                                new List(),
                                new List>(),
                                0
                            };
        Type t = testCases[0].GetType();
        string text = t.GetCodeDefinition();
        Console.WriteLine(text);
    }
}