Pass Method as Parameter using C#

Question

I have several methods all with the same parameter types and return values but different names and blocks. I want to pass the name of the method to run to another method that will invoke the passed method.

public int Method1(string)
{
    // Do something
    return myInt;
}

public int Method2(string)
{
    // Do something different
    return myInt;
}

public bool RunTheMethod([Method Name passed in here] myMethodName)
{
    // Do stuff
    int i = myMethodName("My String");
    // Do more stuff
    return true;
}

public bool Test()
{
    return RunTheMethod(Method1);
}

This code does not work but this is what I am trying to do. What I don't understand is how to write the RunTheMethod code since I need to define the parameter.

Answer 1

You can use the Func delegate in .net 3.5 as the parameter in your RunTheMethod method. The Func delegate allows you to specify a method that takes a number of parameters of a specific type and returns a single argument of a specific type. Here is an example that should work:

public class Class1
{
    public int Method1(string input)
    {
        //... do something
        return 0;
    }

    public int Method2(string input)
    {
        //... do something different
        return 1;
    }

    public bool RunTheMethod(Func<string, int> myMethodName)
    {
        //... do stuff
        int i = myMethodName("My String");
        //... do more stuff
        return true;
    }

    public bool Test()
    {
        return RunTheMethod(Method1);
    }
}

Answer 2

You need to use a delegate. In this case all your methods take a string parameter and return an int - this is most simply represented by the Func<string, int> delegate¹. So your code can become correct with as simple a change as this:

public bool RunTheMethod(Func<string, int> myMethodName)
{
    // ... do stuff
    int i = myMethodName("My String");
    // ... do more stuff
    return true;
}

Delegates have a lot more power than this, admittedly. For example, with C# you can create a delegate from a lambda expression, so you could invoke your method this way:

RunTheMethod(x => x.Length);

That will create an anonymous function like this:

// The <> in the name make it "unspeakable" - you can't refer to this method directly
// in your own code.
private static int <>_HiddenMethod_<>(string x)
{
    return x.Length;
}

and then pass that delegate to the RunTheMethod method.

You can use delegates for event subscriptions, asynchronous execution, callbacks - all kinds of things. It's well worth reading up on them, particularly if you want to use LINQ. I have an article which is mostly about the differences between delegates and events, but you may find it useful anyway.

---

¹ This is just based on the generic Func<T, TResult> delegate type in the framework; you could easily declare your own:

public delegate int MyDelegateType(string value)

and then make the parameter be of type MyDelegateType instead.

Answer 3

From OP's example:

 public static int Method1(string mystring)
 {
      return 1;
 }

 public static int Method2(string mystring)
 {
     return 2;
 }

You can try Action Delegate! And then call your method using

 public bool RunTheMethod(Action myMethodName)
 {
      myMethodName();   // note: the return value got discarded
      return true;
 }

RunTheMethod(() => Method1("MyString1"));

Or

public static object InvokeMethod(Delegate method, params object[] args)
{
     return method.DynamicInvoke(args);
}

Then simply call method

Console.WriteLine(InvokeMethod(new Func<string,int>(Method1), "MyString1"));

Console.WriteLine(InvokeMethod(new Func<string, int>(Method2), "MyString2"));