C# Getting the name of the variable

Question

I have 5 string variables. Then I put them into a list.

If there a way when looping through the list to the actual name of the string variable?

Answer 1

You can create Dictionary<string,string> and iterate it like this:

var dict = new Dictionary<string, string>();
dict.Add("var1", var1);
... //do it for all variables
foreach (var variable in dict.Keys)
{
    var varname = variable;
    var varvalue = dict[variable];
}

Key would be variable name, and value would be variable value

Answer 2

No, it is not possible. When adding string variable to List<string>, only value of the variable stored in the list, not the variable name which is used to store value earlier.

Answer 3

Here you can see how you can do this. The question is about reflection, but the accepted answer is what you need.

Edit:

you can use expression trees and promote the variable to a closure:

static string GetVariableName<T>(Expression<Func<T>> expr)
{
    var body = (MemberExpression)expr.Body;

    return body.Member.Name;
}

You can use the method like this:

static void Main()
{
    var someVar = 3;

    Console.Write(GetVariableName(() => someVar));
}

And finally, you can do it this way with C# 6:

static void Main()
{
    var someVar = 3;

    Console.Write(nameof(someVar));
}

Still, I don't know what is the reason for doing this. If you need to keep the variable name as a key, do it like @wudzik sugested.