How set value a property selector Expression<Func<T,TResult>>

i need associate a entity property Address in my Person class entity with expressions linq in my FactoryEntities class using pattern factory idea, look this is what I have and I want to do:

Address address = new Address();
address.Country = "Chile";
address.City = "Santiago";
address.ZipCode = "43532";
//Factory instance creation object
//This is idea
Person person = new FactoryEntity<Person>().AssociateWithEntity(p=>p.Address, address);

public class Person: Entity
{
    public string Name{ get; set; }
    public string LastName{ get; set; }
    public Address Address{ get; set; }
}

public class Address: Entity
{
    public string Country{ get; set; }
    public string City{ get; set; }
    public string ZipCode{ get; set; }
}

public class FactoryEntity<TEntity> where TEntity : Entity
{
    public void AssociateWithEntity<TProperty>(Expression<Func<TEntity, TProperty>> entityExpression, TProperty newValueEntity) where TProperty : Entity
    {
        if (instanceEntity == null || instanceEntity.IsTransient())
            throw new ArgumentNullException();

        /*TODO: Logic the association and validation 
        How set the newValueEntity into the property of entityExpression (x=>x.Direccion = direccion*/
    }
}

Solution 1:

This works:

The following helper method converts a getter expression into a setter delegate. If you want to return an Expression<Action<T,TProperty>> instead of an Action<T,TProperty>, just don't call the Compile() method at the end.

Note: The code is from Ian Mercer's blog: http://blog.abodit.com/2011/09/convert-a-property-getter-to-a-setter/

    /// <summary>
    /// Convert a lambda expression for a getter into a setter
    /// </summary>
    public static Action<T, TProperty> GetSetter<T, TProperty>(Expression<Func<T, TProperty>> expression)
    {
        var memberExpression = (MemberExpression)expression.Body;
        var property = (PropertyInfo)memberExpression.Member;
        var setMethod = property.GetSetMethod();

        var parameterT = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "x");
        var parameterTProperty = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TProperty), "y");

        var newExpression =
            Expression.Lambda<Action<T, TProperty>>(
                Expression.Call(parameterT, setMethod, parameterTProperty),
                parameterT,
                parameterTProperty
            );

        return newExpression.Compile();
    }

Solution 2:

You can set the property like this:

public void AssociateWithEntity<TProperty>(
    Expression<Func<TEntity, TProperty>> entityExpression,
    TProperty newValueEntity)
    where TProperty : Entity
{
    if (instanceEntity == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException();

    var memberExpression = (MemberExpression)entityExpression.Body;
    var property = (PropertyInfo)memberExpression.Member;

    property.SetValue(instanceEntity, newValueEntity, null);
}

This will work only for properties, not fields, although adding support for fields should be easy.

But the code you have for getting the person won't work. If you want to keep the void return type of AssociateWithEntity(), you could do it like this:

var factory = new FactoryEntity<Person>();
factory.AssociateWithEntity(p => p.Address, address);
Person person = factory.InstanceEntity;

Another option is a fluent interface:

Person person = new FactoryEntity<Person>()
    .AssociateWithEntity(p => p.Address, address)
    .InstanceEntity;

Solution 3:

Another solution is to get the property owner and invoke the property setter using reflection. The advantage of this solution is that it does not use extension methods and can be called with any type.

private void SetPropertyValue(Expression<Func<object, object>> lambda, object value)
{
  var memberExpression = (MemberExpression)lambda.Body;
  var propertyInfo = (PropertyInfo)memberExpression.Member;
  var propertyOwnerExpression = (MemberExpression)memberExpression.Expression;
  var propertyOwner = Expression.Lambda(propertyOwnerExpression).Compile().DynamicInvoke();    
  propertyInfo.SetValue(propertyOwner, value, null);            
}
...
SetPropertyValue(s => myStuff.MyPropy, newValue);