Convert from String to type stored in Type variable

Question

I'm trying to do a kind of debug console in Unity to be able to change - for example - enable/disable boolean values at run-time.

There's a point where I have a value that I want to set in a certain variable but this value is stored as a string (input from the user) and I need to cast it to the type of that variable (stored in a Type variable) but I don't know if this is possible.

This is the part of my code where I have the problem:

private void SetValueInVariable(string variable, Type type, string toSet)
{
    //reflection - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/concepts/reflection
    Type container = typeof(StaticDataContainer);
    FieldInfo placeToSet = container.GetField(variable, BindingFlags.Static);
    placeToSet.SetValue(null, //here I need to convert "toSet"); 
}

I would like to know if this is possible and how can I do it.

Don't name your variable var

maccettura
– maccettura

2018-07-10 18:05:50 +00:00
Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:05 — maccettura
– maccettura, Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:05
@maccettura ...or value, for that matter :-)

Sergey Kalinichenko
– Sergey Kalinichenko

2018-07-10 18:06:29 +00:00
Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:06 — Sergey Kalinichenko
– Sergey Kalinichenko, Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:06
@dasblinkenlight missed that one!

maccettura
– maccettura

2018-07-10 18:06:47 +00:00
Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:06 — maccettura
– maccettura, Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:06
Edited. Thank you

Carlos Hdez Barbera
– Carlos Hdez Barbera

2018-07-10 18:16:57 +00:00
Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:16 — Carlos Hdez Barbera
– Carlos Hdez Barbera, Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:16
@StriplingWarrior Sorry, my mistake

Magnetron
– Magnetron

2018-07-10 18:32:19 +00:00
Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:32 — Magnetron
– Magnetron, Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:32

StriplingWarrior · Accepted Answer · 2018-07-10 18:29:03Z

1

TypeDescriptor provides a fairly robust way to convert a string to a specific type. Of course, this will only work for a handful of types that have fairly straightforward parsing.

private void SetValueInVariable(string variable, Type type, string toSet)
{
    //reflection - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/concepts/reflection
    Type container = typeof(StaticDataContainer);
    FieldInfo placeToSet = container.GetField(variable, BindingFlags.Static);
    var value = TypeDescriptor.GetConverter(type).ConvertFrom(toSet);
    placeToSet.SetValue(null, value); 
}

answered Jul 10, 2018 at 18:29

StriplingWarrior

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1 Comment

Carlos Hdez Barbera Over a year ago

OH Thank you! I'm just trying to convert to standard types so I suppose It would work.

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