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PropertyInfo Class

Namespace: System.Reflection

Represents a property on a type and provides methods for getting or setting the property's value. This is an abstract class that is implemented by specific property types.

Inheritance

Object > MemberInfo > PropertyInfo

Remarks

Use the members of the PropertyInfo class to get information about a property, such as its name, type, and accessibility. You can also use it to get or set the value of the property on an instance of the class.

To get a PropertyInfo object, you can use methods such as Type.GetProperty or Type.GetProperties.

Public Methods

Name Description
GetValue Gets the value of the property on a specified object. 
public virtual object GetValue(
    object obj,
    object[] index = null
);
Parameters:
  • obj: The object whose property value will be returned.
  • index: Optional. An array of zero-based indexes that identify a particular subset or element of the collection property that is being accessed.
Returns: The value of the property.
SetValue Sets the value of the property on a specified object. 
public virtual void SetValue(
    object obj,
    object value,
    object[] index = null
);
Parameters:
  • obj: The object whose property value will be set.
  • value: The value to set the property to.
  • index: Optional. An array of zero-based indexes that identify a particular subset or element of the collection property that is being set.
GetAccessors Gets the public get accessor of the property. 
public MethodInfo GetGetMethod();
public MethodInfo GetGetMethod(bool nonPublic);
Returns: A MethodInfo object representing the public get accessor, or null if the accessor is not public or does not exist.
SetAccessors Gets the public set accessor of the property. 
public MethodInfo GetSetMethod();
public MethodInfo GetSetMethod(bool nonPublic);
Returns: A MethodInfo object representing the public set accessor, or null if the accessor is not public or does not exist.

Public Properties

Name Type Description
CanRead bool Indicates whether the property can be read.
CanWrite bool Indicates whether the property can be written to.
PropertyType Type Gets the type of the property.
IsSpecialName bool Indicates whether the property's name is special.
GetAccessors MethodInfo[] Gets the public and private accessors for the property.
SetAccessors MethodInfo[] Gets the public and private set accessors for the property.

Example Usage

This example demonstrates how to retrieve and use a property's value using Reflection. 
using System;
using System.Reflection;

public class Example
{
    public string MyProperty { get; set; } = "Initial Value";

    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Example instance = new Example();
        Type type = typeof(Example);

        // Get the PropertyInfo for "MyProperty"
        PropertyInfo propertyInfo = type.GetProperty("MyProperty");

        if (propertyInfo != null)
        {
            // Get the current value
            object currentValue = propertyInfo.GetValue(instance);
            Console.WriteLine($"Current Value: {currentValue}"); // Output: Current Value: Initial Value

            // Set a new value
            string newValue = "Updated Value";
            propertyInfo.SetValue(instance, newValue);

            // Get the updated value
            object updatedValue = propertyInfo.GetValue(instance);
            Console.WriteLine($"Updated Value: {updatedValue}"); // Output: Updated Value: Updated Value

            // Get property type
            Console.WriteLine($"Property Type: {propertyInfo.PropertyType.Name}"); // Output: Property Type: String
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Property 'MyProperty' not found.");
        }
    }
}