Type.IsAssignableFrom Method

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.NET Framework Class Library

Type.IsAssignableFrom Method

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Determines whether an instance of the current Type can be assigned from an instance of the specified Type.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

public virtual bool IsAssignableFrom(
	Type c
)

Parameters

c
Type: System.Type
The type to compare with the current type.

Return Value

Type: System.Boolean
true if c and the current Type represent the same type, or if the current Type is in the inheritance hierarchy of c, or if the current Type is an interface that c implements, or if c is a generic type parameter and the current Type represents one of the constraints of c. false if none of these conditions are true, or if c is Nothing.

Implements

_Type.IsAssignableFrom(Type)

This method can be overridden by a derived class.

Note Note

A generic type definition is not assignable from a closed constructed type. That is, you cannot assign the closed constructed type MyGenericList<int> (MyGenericList(Of Integer) in Visual Basic) to a variable of type MyGenericList<T>.

You can determine the element types of a Type using GetElementType.

If the c parameter is of type TypeBuilder, the result is based on the type that is to be built. The following code example demonstrates this using a built type named B.

TypeBuilder b1 = moduleBuilder.DefineType("B", TypeAttributes.Public, typeof(A));
// Returns true:
typeof(A).IsAssignableFrom(b1))

The following example demonstrates the IsAssignableFrom method using defined classes, integer arrays, and generics.


using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
            // Demonstrate classes:
            Console.WriteLine("Defned Classes:");
            Room room1 = new Room();
            Kitchen kitchen1 = new Kitchen();
            Bedroom bedroom1 = new Bedroom();
            Guestroom guestroom1 = new Guestroom();
            MasterBedroom masterbedroom1 = new MasterBedroom();

            Type room1Type = room1.GetType();
            Type kitchen1Type = kitchen1.GetType();
            Type bedroom1Type = bedroom1.GetType();
            Type guestroom1Type = guestroom1.GetType();
            Type masterbedroom1Type = masterbedroom1.GetType();

            Console.WriteLine("room assignable from kitchen: {0}", room1Type.IsAssignableFrom(kitchen1Type));
            Console.WriteLine("bedroom assignable from guestroom: {0}", bedroom1Type.IsAssignableFrom(guestroom1Type));
            Console.WriteLine("kitchen assignable from masterbedroom: {0}", kitchen1Type.IsAssignableFrom(masterbedroom1Type));

            // Demonstrate arrays:
            Console.WriteLine();
            Console.WriteLine("Integer arrays:");

            int[] array2 = new int[2];
            int[] array10 = new int[10];
            int[,] array22 = new int[2, 2];
            int[,] array24 = new int[2, 4];

            Type array2Type = array2.GetType();
            Type array10Type = array10.GetType();
            Type array22Type = array22.GetType();
            Type array24Type = array24.GetType();

            Console.WriteLine("int[2] assignable from int[10]: {0}", array2Type.IsAssignableFrom(array10Type));
            Console.WriteLine("int[2] assignable from int[2,4]: {0}", array2Type.IsAssignableFrom(array24Type));
            Console.WriteLine("int[2,4] assignable from int[2,2]: {0}", array24Type.IsAssignableFrom(array22Type));

            // Demonstrate generics:
            Console.WriteLine();
            Console.WriteLine("Generics:");

            // Note that "int?[]" is the same as "Nullable<int>[]"
            int?[] arrayNull = new int?[10];
            List<int> genIntList = new List<int>();
            List<Type> genTList = new List<Type>();

            Type arrayNullType = arrayNull.GetType();
            Type genIntListType = genIntList.GetType();
            Type genTListType = genTList.GetType();

            Console.WriteLine("int[10] assignable from int?[10]: {0}", array10Type.IsAssignableFrom(arrayNullType));
            Console.WriteLine("List<int> assignable from List<Type>: {0}", genIntListType.IsAssignableFrom(genTListType));
            Console.WriteLine("List<Type> assignable from List<int>: {0}", genTListType.IsAssignableFrom(genIntListType));

            Console.ReadLine();

    }
}
class Room
{
}

class Kitchen : Room
{
}

class Bedroom : Room
{
}

class Guestroom : Bedroom
{
}

class MasterBedroom : Bedroom
{
}

//This code example produces the following output:
//
// Defned Classes:
// room assignable from kitchen: True
// bedroom assignable from guestroom: True
// kitchen assignable from masterbedroom: False
//
// Integer arrays:
// int[2] assignable from int[10]: True
// int[2] assignable from int[2,4]: False
// int[2,4] assignable from int[2,2]: True
//
// Generics:
// int[10] assignable from int?[10]: False
// List<int> assignable from List<Type>: False
// List<Type> assignable from List<int>: False


.NET Framework

Supported in: 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Portable Class Library

Supported in: Portable Class Library

Windows 8 Release Preview, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role supported with SP1 or later; Itanium not supported)

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

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