C#: How to shorten MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType.Name inside my code?

Question

I'm going to pass the current class name as a parameter to some of the functions inside my codes.

I have many calls like this inside my code:

return Ok(new WebServiceResult(ErrorCodes.ERROR_CODE_MINUS_002_INVALID_REQUEST_DATE,
          MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType.Name));

The part MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType.Name is intended to return name of the current class.

How can I shorten this MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType.Name using C# syntaxes?

I was looking for a thing like macros in C/C++, something such as:

#define CLASSNAME MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType.Name

but it seems Macros are not supported in C# and it is not a good practice in C# if I understood correctly. However, for making my code clearer and more readable I'm looking for something to replace this snippet and make it shorter.

P.S. I don't want to fetch name of calling class inside the called method itself but I'm looking for a way to shorten my code and make it more clear.

CallerMemberAttribute has nothing to fetch calling ClassName. It got the name of Calling Method Name but not for the Class Name itself. — VSB, Mar 09 '22 at 16:36

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 09 '22 at 17:08

1

Define a class constant by using nameof. The compiler checks that this name exists. Rename refactorings will also change this name inside nameof.

public class MyClass
{
    private const string ClassName = nameof(MyClass);
}

answered Mar 09 '22 at 17:08

Olivier Jacot-Descombes

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score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 09 '22 at 17:01

If this is for logging I would consider using attributes to insert the file-name. If you use one file per class, and you probably should, it provide a similar way to discover the source of the log-message. Using these attributes will make the compiler insert the parameters at compile time, making it way faster than using reflection.

Example

public void TraceMessage(string message,
        [System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CallerMemberName] string memberName = "",
        [System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CallerFilePath] string sourceFilePath = "",
        [System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CallerLineNumber] int sourceLineNumber = 0)
{
    System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine("message: " + message);
    System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine("member name: " + memberName);
    System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine("source file path: " + sourceFilePath);
    System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine("source line number: " + sourceLineNumber);
}

If must have the actual class name this approach will not be feasable. A possible workaround could be to use a separate static method that inspects the call stack to find the calling method, allowing you to provide a shorter method. Inspecting the call stack will be somewhat slow, but everything involving reflection is somewhat slow. Just remember to mark your helper method as non-inlinable: [System.Runtime.CompilerServices.MethodImpl(System.Runtime.CompilerServices.MethodImplOptions.NoInlining)]

C#: How to shorten MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType.Name inside my code?

2 Answers2