How to find all the classes which implement a given interface?
C#ReflectionC# Problem Overview
Under a given namespace, I have a set of classes which implement an interface. Let's call it ISomething
. I have another class (let's call it CClass
) which knows about ISomething
but doesn't know about the classes which implement that interface.
I would like that CClass
to look for all the implementation of ISomething
, instantiate an instance of it and execute the method.
Does anybody have an idea on how to do that with C# 3.5?
C# Solutions
Solution 1 - C#
A working code-sample:
var instances = from t in Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetTypes()
where t.GetInterfaces().Contains(typeof(ISomething))
&& t.GetConstructor(Type.EmptyTypes) != null
select Activator.CreateInstance(t) as ISomething;
foreach (var instance in instances)
{
instance.Foo(); // where Foo is a method of ISomething
}
Edit Added a check for a parameterless constructor so that the call to CreateInstance will succeed.
Solution 2 - C#
You can get a list of loaded assemblies by using this:
Assembly assembly = System.Reflection.AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies()
From there, you can get a list of types in the assembly (assuming public types):
Type[] types = assembly.GetExportedTypes();
Then you can ask each type whether it supports that interface by finding that interface on the object:
Type interfaceType = type.GetInterface("ISomething");
Not sure if there is a more efficient way of doing this with reflection.
Solution 3 - C#
A example using Linq:
var types =
myAssembly.GetTypes()
.Where(m => m.IsClass && m.GetInterface("IMyInterface") != null);
Solution 4 - C#
foreach (Type t in Assembly.GetCallingAssembly().GetTypes())
{
if (t.GetInterface("ITheInterface") != null)
{
ITheInterface executor = Activator.CreateInstance(t) as ITheInterface;
executor.PerformSomething();
}
}
Solution 5 - C#
You could use something like the following and tailor it to your needs.
var _interfaceType = typeof(ISomething);
var currentAssembly = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
var types = GetType().GetNestedTypes();
foreach (var type in types)
{
if (_interfaceType.IsAssignableFrom(type) && type.IsPublic && !type.IsInterface)
{
ISomething something = (ISomething)currentAssembly.CreateInstance(type.FullName, false);
something.TheMethod();
}
}
This code could use some performance enhancements but it's a start.
Solution 6 - C#
Maybe we should go this way
foreach ( var instance in Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetTypes().Where(a => a.GetConstructor(Type.EmptyTypes) != null).Select(Activator.CreateInstance).OfType<ISomething>() )
instance.Execute();