Check if Object is Dictionary or List

Question

Working with .NET 2 in mono, I'm using a basic JSON library that returns nested string, object Dictionary and lists.

I'm writing a mapper to map this to a jsonData class that I already have and I need to be able to determine if the underlying type of an object is a Dictionary or a List. Below is the method I'm using to perform this test, but was wondering if theres a cleaner way?

private static bool IsDictionary(object o) {     try {         Dictionary<string, object> dict = (Dictionary<string, object>)o;         return true;     } catch {         return false;     } }  private static bool IsList(object o) {     try {         List<object> list = (List<object>)o;         return true;     } catch {         return false;     } } 

The library I'm using is litJson but the JsonMapper class essentially doesn't work on iOS, hence the reason I am writing my own mapper.

Answer 1

Use the is keyword and reflection.

public bool IsList(object o) {     if(o == null) return false;     return o is IList &&            o.GetType().IsGenericType &&            o.GetType().GetGenericTypeDefinition().IsAssignableFrom(typeof(List<>)); }  public bool IsDictionary(object o) {     if(o == null) return false;     return o is IDictionary &&            o.GetType().IsGenericType &&            o.GetType().GetGenericTypeDefinition().IsAssignableFrom(typeof(Dictionary<,>)); } 

Answer 2

If you want to check that a certain object is of some type, use the is operator. For example:

private static bool IsDictionary(object o) {     return o is Dictionary<string, object>; } 

Though for something this simple, you probably don't need a separate method, just use the is operator directly where you need it.