How to check programmatically if a type is a struct or a class?
Use Type.IsValueType
:
Gets a value indicating whether the Type is a value type.
Use it either like this:
typeof(Foo).IsValueType
or at execution time like this:
fooInstance.GetType().IsValueType
Conversely there is also a Type.IsClass
property (which should have been called IsReferenceType
in my opinion but no matter) which may or may not be more appropriate for your uses based on what you are testing for.
Code always seems to read better without boolean negations, so use whichever helps the readability of your code.
As Stefan points out below, in order to properly identify structs you must be careful to avoid false positives when it comes to enums
. An enum
is a value type so the IsValueType
property will return true
for enums
as well as structs
.
So if you truly are looking for structs
and not just value types in general you will need to do this:
Type fooType = fooInstance.GetType();
Boolean isStruct = fooType.IsValueType && !fooType.IsEnum;
Type type = typeof(Foo);
bool isStruct = type.IsValueType && !type.IsPrimitive;
bool isClass = type.IsClass;
It could still be: a primitive type or an interface.
Edit: There is a lot of discussion about the definition of a struct. A struct and a value type are actually the same, so IsValueType
is the correct answer. I usually had to know whether a type is a user defined struct, this means a type which is implemented using the keyword struct
and not a primitive type. So I keep my answer for everyone who has the same problem then me.
Edit 2: According to the C# Reference, enums are not structs, while any other value type is. Therefore, the correct answer how to determine if a type is a struct is:
bool isStruct = type.IsValueType && !type.IsEnum;
IMHO, the definition of a struct is more confusing then logical. I actually doubt that this definition is of any relevance in praxis.
Extension method. It returns true
for anything defined as a struct
in my code but not for things like int
which although they are technically structs are not for my purposes.
I needed to know when a type may have child fields or properties but was defined as a struct
and not a class
. Because when you alter a struct
it just alters a copy, and then you have to set the original back to the altered copy to make the changes "stick".
public static bool IsStruct(this Type source)
{
return source.IsValueType && !source.IsPrimitive && !source.IsEnum;
}
I think it would be something like this:
Is it a structure
public bool IsStructure(Type LocalType)
{
bool result = false;
if (LocalType.IsValueType)
{
//Is Value Type
if (!LocalType.IsPrimitive)
{
/* Is not primitive. Remember that primitives are:
Boolean, Byte, SByte, Int16, UInt16, Int32, UInt32,
Int64, UInt64, IntPtr, UIntPtr, Char, Double, Single.
This way, could still be Decimal, Date or Enum. */
if (!LocalType == typeof(decimal))
{
//Is not Decimal
if (!LocalType == typeof(DateTime))
{
//Is not Date
if (!LocalType.IsEnum)
{
//Is not Enum. Consequently it is a structure.
result = true;
}
}
}
}
}
return result;
}
Is it a Class
public bool IsClass(Type LocalType)
{
bool result = false;
if (LocalType.IsClass)
{
//Is Class or Delegate
if (LocalType.GetType != typeof(Delegate))
result = true;
}
return result;
}