Is there a better alternative than this to 'switch on type'?

Question

Seeing as C# can\'t switch on a Type (which I gather wasn\'t added as a special case because is relationships mean that more than one distinct

Answer 1

For built-in types, you can use the TypeCode enumeration. Please note that GetType() is kind of slow, but probably not relevant in most situations.

switch (Type.GetTypeCode(someObject.GetType()))
{
    case TypeCode.Boolean:
        break;
    case TypeCode.Byte:
        break;
    case TypeCode.Char:
        break;
}

For custom types, you can create your own enumeration, and either an interface or a base class with abstract property or method...

Abstract class implementation of property

public enum FooTypes { FooFighter, AbbreviatedFool, Fubar, Fugu };
public abstract class Foo
{
    public abstract FooTypes FooType { get; }
}
public class FooFighter : Foo
{
    public override FooTypes FooType { get { return FooTypes.FooFighter; } }
}

Abstract class implementation of method

public enum FooTypes { FooFighter, AbbreviatedFool, Fubar, Fugu };
public abstract class Foo
{
    public abstract FooTypes GetFooType();
}
public class FooFighter : Foo
{
    public override FooTypes GetFooType() { return FooTypes.FooFighter; }
}

Interface implementation of property

public enum FooTypes { FooFighter, AbbreviatedFool, Fubar, Fugu };
public interface IFooType
{
    FooTypes FooType { get; }
}
public class FooFighter : IFooType
{
    public FooTypes FooType { get { return FooTypes.FooFighter; } }
}

Interface implementation of method

public enum FooTypes { FooFighter, AbbreviatedFool, Fubar, Fugu };
public interface IFooType
{
    FooTypes GetFooType();
}
public class FooFighter : IFooType
{
    public FooTypes GetFooType() { return FooTypes.FooFighter; }
}

One of my coworkers just told me about this too: This has the advantage that you can use it for literally any type of object, not just ones that you define. It has the disadvantage of being a bit larger and slower.

First define a static class like this:

public static class TypeEnumerator
{
    public class TypeEnumeratorException : Exception
    {
        public Type unknownType { get; private set; }
        public TypeEnumeratorException(Type unknownType) : base()
        {
            this.unknownType = unknownType;
        }
    }
    public enum TypeEnumeratorTypes { _int, _string, _Foo, _TcpClient, };
    private static Dictionary typeDict;
    static TypeEnumerator()
    {
        typeDict = new Dictionary();
        typeDict[typeof(int)] = TypeEnumeratorTypes._int;
        typeDict[typeof(string)] = TypeEnumeratorTypes._string;
        typeDict[typeof(Foo)] = TypeEnumeratorTypes._Foo;
        typeDict[typeof(System.Net.Sockets.TcpClient)] = TypeEnumeratorTypes._TcpClient;
    }
    /// 

    /// Throws NullReferenceException and TypeEnumeratorException
    /// NullReferenceException
    /// TypeEnumeratorException
    public static TypeEnumeratorTypes EnumerateType(object theObject)
    {
        try
        {
            return typeDict[theObject.GetType()];
        }
        catch (KeyNotFoundException)
        {
            throw new TypeEnumeratorException(theObject.GetType());
        }
    }
}

And then you can use it like this:

switch (TypeEnumerator.EnumerateType(someObject))
{
    case TypeEnumerator.TypeEnumeratorTypes._int:
        break;
    case TypeEnumerator.TypeEnumeratorTypes._string:
        break;
}