Convert.ChangeType Method (Object, Type, IFormatProvider)
Returns an object of the specified type whose value is equivalent to the specified object. A parameter supplies culture-specific formatting information.
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
static member ChangeType : value:Object * conversionType:Type * provider:IFormatProvider -> Object
Parameters
- value
-
Type:
System.Object
An object that implements the IConvertible interface.
- conversionType
-
Type:
System.Type
The type of object to return.
- provider
-
Type:
System.IFormatProvider
An object that supplies culture-specific formatting information.
Return Value
Type: System.ObjectAn object whose type is conversionType and whose value is equivalent to value.
-or-
value, if the Type of value and conversionType are equal.
-or-
A null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), if value is null and conversionType is not a value type.
| Exception | Condition |
|---|---|
| InvalidCastException | This conversion is not supported. -or- value is null and conversionType is a value type. -or- value does not implement the IConvertible interface. |
| FormatException | value is not in a format for conversionType recognized by provider. |
| OverflowException | value represents a number that is out of the range of conversionType. |
| ArgumentNullException | conversionType is null. |
ChangeType is a general-purpose conversion method that converts the object specified by value to conversionType. The value parameter can be an object of any type, and conversionType can also be a Type object that represents any base or custom type. For the conversion to succeed, value must implement the IConvertible interface, because the method simply wraps a call to an appropriate IConvertible method. The method requires that conversion of value to conversionType be supported.
The provider parameter is an IFormatProvider implementation that supplies formatting information for the conversion. Whether and how this parameter is used depends on the underlying IConvertible implementation. If value is a base data type, provider is used only for the following conversions:
Conversion from a number to a string, or from a string to a number. provider must be a CultureInfo object, a NumberFormatInfo object, or a custom IFormatProvider implementation that returns a NumberFormatInfo object. However, because the ChangeType(Object, TypeCode, IFormatProvider) method performs the conversion using the default "G" format specifier, the provider parameter has no effect if value or the target type is an unsigned integer. If provider is null, the CultureInfo object that represents the current thread culture is used.
Conversion from a DateTime value to a string, or from a string to a DateTime value. provider must be a CultureInfo or DateTimeFormatInfo object. If provider is null, the CultureInfo object that represents the current thread culture is used.
If value is an application-defined type, its IConvertible implementation may use the provider parameter.
Notes to Callers:
The ChangeType(Object, Type, IFormatProvider) method can convert an enumeration value to another type. However, it cannot convert another type to an enumeration value, even if the source type is the underlying type of the enumeration. To convert a type to an enumeration value, use a casting operator (in C#) or a conversion function (in Visual Basic). The following example illustrates the conversion to and from a Continent enumeration value.
The Convert.ChangeType(Object, Type, IFormatProvider) method can convert a nullable type to another type. However, it cannot convert another type to a value of a nullable type, even if conversionType is the underlying type of the Nullable<'T>. To perform the conversion, you can use a casting operator (in C#) or a conversion function (in Visual Basic). The following example illustrates the conversion to and from a nullable type.
The following example defines a Temperature class that implements the IConvertible interface.
The following example creates an instance of the Temperature class and calls the ChangeType(Object, Type, IFormatProvider) method to convert it to the basic numeric types supported by the .NET Framework and to a String. It illustrates that the ChangeType method wraps a call to the source type's IConvertible implementation.
Available since 8
.NET Framework
Available since 1.1
Portable Class Library
Supported in: portable .NET platforms
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
Windows Phone Silverlight
Available since 7.0
Windows Phone
Available since 8.1