Converting Reflected Property to String

Question

I've got a problem converting an object property to string while using reflection...

string value = Convert.ToString(typeof(T).GetProperty(ValueField).GetValue(data, null));

This throws 'Object does not match target type.' when returning any type other than string?

Answer 1

If for some reason you don't want to use the property's ToString method, you can constrain T to classes that implement IConvertible:

public string DoSomething<T>(object data) where T: IConvertible { ... }

Answer 2

You can't cast every object to a string, but every object has a ToString method. So you can change your code to:

string value = typeof(T).GetProperty(ValueField).GetValue(data, null).ToString();

Answer 3

Use the type's built-in ToString method instead of calling Convert.ToString. All types have a ToString method inherited from object, whereas Convert.ToString only works for types that implement the IConvertible interface.

string value =
    typeof(T).GetProperty(ValueField).GetValue(data, null).ToString();