Switch based on generic argument type

Question

In C# 7.1 the below is valid code:

object o = new object();
switch (o)
{
    case CustomerRequestBase c:
        //do something
        break;
}

However, I want to use the pattern switch statement in the following scenario:

public T Process<T>(object message, IMessageFormatter messageFormatter) 
    where T : class, IStandardMessageModel, new()
{
    switch (T)
    {
        case CustomerRequestBase c:
            //do something
            break;
    }
}

The IDE gives me the error "'T' is a type, which is not valid in the given context" Is there an elegant way to switch on the type of a generic parameter? I get that in my first example you are switching on the object and the second I'd want to switch on the type T. What would be the best approach to do this?

Answer 1

I agree that there are situation when this approach is faster and not so ugly, and also agree that in any case a better solution should be found, but sometimes the trade-off doesn't pay... so here is a solution (C# 9.0)

return typeof(T) switch
{
    Type t when t == typeof(CustomerRequestBase) => /*do something*/ ,
    _ => throw new Exception("Nothing to do")
};