How Can I Retrieve Constants from a Type Using .NET Reflection?

Getting Constants of a Type Using Reflection

Understanding how to retrieve the constants defined in a specific type using reflection is essential for advanced programming scenarios. This article will elaborate on how to achieve this using reflection in .NET.

The Reflection Approach

To obtain the constants declared within a type, we leverage the GetFields method with specific binding flags. The BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.FlattenHierarchy flags ensure that all public and static fields are acquired, including those inherited from base classes.

Filtering Constants

After gathering the fields, we employ additional filters to isolate the actual constants. The IsLiteral property checks if the field value is hardcoded at compilation and cannot be modified. The IsInitOnly property determines whether the field can be assigned in the constructor, which is not allowed for true constants.

Modern Implementation with Generics and LINQ

The original code can be refined using generics and LINQ for cleaner and more concise implementation. The Where method selectively retrieves only fields that meet the IsLiteral and IsInitOnly criteria, resulting in a list of constant field infos.

For even greater brevity, you can condense the code to a single line by combining the aforementioned steps. This approach provides a succinct solution for extracting constants from any specified type.

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