Cast generic type parameter to a specific type in C#

Question

If you need to cast a generic type parameter to a specific type, we can cast it to a object and do the casting like below:

void SomeMethod(T t) {     SomeClass obj2 = (SomeClass)(object)t; } 

Is there a better way to achieve this, rather than casting it to an object and then to a specific type?

Problem:

I have a generic function which accepts a generic type parameter, inside the function based on a type checking I do some operations like below:

    void SomeMethod(T t)     {         if (typeof(T).Equals(typeof(TypeA)))         {             TypeA = (TypeA)(object)t;             //Do some operation         }         else if (typeof(T).Equals(typeof(TypeB)))         {             TypeB = (TypeB)(object)t;             //Do some operation         }     } 

Answer 1

You can use Convert.ChangeType

SomeClass obj2 = (SomeClass)Convert.ChangeType(t, typeof(SomeClass)); 

Although, keep in mind that this will throw an exception if a cast is invalid.

Answer 2

Using as:

SomeClass obj2 = t as SomeClass; 

This would not throw an exception and t would be null if the cast fails.

I don't really know what you're trying to do, but I hope that you're not missing the point of Generics here.

If your intention is to restrict the method to type SomeClass and descendants:

void SomeMethod(T t)  where T : SomeClass