I’m successfully using the classes in the System.Configuration namespace to
strongly type my configuration objects.

However, I can’t see a mechanism by which I can use the configuration file
to indicate the *type* of object to create. Is this possible?

I really want to add a “Type” attribute to the configuration element like
this…

<configuration>
  <configSections>
    <section name="MySection" type="TestConfiguration.MySection,
TestConfiguration" />
  </configSections>
  <MySection>
    <MyCollection>
      <add Name="One" Type="1"/>
      <add Name="Two" Type="2"/>
      <add Name="Three" Type="3"/>
    </MyCollection>
  </MySection>
</configuration>

And then my code might look something like this (replacing the random
creation of objects with code driven by the configuration file)…

Sub Main()
Dim _MySection As MySection =
System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.GetSection("MySection")
Dim _MyCollection As MyCollection = _MySection.MyCollection
For Each _MyElement As MyElement In _MyCollection
MsgBox(_MyElement.Name & " " & _MyElement.GetType.Name)
Next
End Sub

Friend Class MySection
    Inherits System.Configuration.ConfigurationSection
    <System.Configuration.ConfigurationProperty("MyCollection")> Friend
ReadOnly Property MyCollection() As MyCollection
        Get
            Return Me("MyCollection")
        End Get
    End Property
End Class

Friend Class MyCollection
    Inherits System.Configuration.ConfigurationElementCollection
    Protected Overloads Overrides Function CreateNewElement() As
System.Configuration.ConfigurationElement
        'We need to read the "Type" attribute here so we know what class of
object to create!
        Static _Random As New Random(Now.Second)
        Select Case _Random.Next(1, 4)
            Case 1
                Return New MyElement1
            Case 2
                Return New MyElement2
            Case 3
                Return New MyElement3
        End Select
    End Function
    Protected Overrides Function GetElementKey(ByVal element As
System.Configuration.ConfigurationElement) As Object
        Return CType(element, MyElement).Name
    End Function
End Class

Friend Class MyElement
    Inherits System.Configuration.ConfigurationElement
    <System.Configuration.ConfigurationProperty("Name")> Public ReadOnly
Property Name() As String
        Get
            Return Me("Name")
        End Get
    End Property
    <System.Configuration.ConfigurationProperty("Type")> Public ReadOnly
Property Type() As String
        Get
            Return Me("Type")
        End Get
    End Property
End Class

Friend Class MyElement1
    Inherits MyElement
End Class

Friend Class MyElement2
    Inherits MyElement
End Class

Friend Class MyElement3
    Inherits MyElement
End Class

Hello,

In the CreateNewElement()  method, we are not able to get the item's
attribute value before create it. So, I suggest we just create a MyElement
object here, like:

Protected Overloads Overrides Function CreateNewElement() As
ConfigurationElement
        Return New MyElement()

    End Function

And then you can get the Type information from the collection:

For Each _MyElement As MyElement In _MyCollection
            MsgBox(_MyElement.Name & " " & _MyElement.Type)
        Next

And then, create the actual type like "MyElement1" based on the Type
information here.

Sincerely,

Luke Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support
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