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I have a little bit of a curve ball for you. Maybe just a design issue...maybe even something as simple as me not understanding Data annotation providers.

Anyway here we go: I have a class which represents some model data. Let's say it represents a package/box/carton.

It actually represents all of these things so I use the class in several different views. Sometimes I want the attribute of the field Package_Description to be So that it shows up as Box Number : input box here.

Now if i want it to appear as "Carton Name" my only option would be to sub type it. Or use a separate class to have the annotations for this class. My quandary is that some of the field names are user configurable and therefore I cannot have a static definition!

(By the way i am using third party librarys [Telerik MVC Grid] do display these field names so i cannot change the fact that it's looking at data annotation )

So I just need to know is there a way to add attributes dynamically? Create an anonymous type on the fly, sub class the original and then add attributes using reflection? Or what other options are open to me, do I need to somehow implement a different annotation provider?

svick
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korz
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1 Answers1

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Attributes are part of the definition of the type. Because of that, you can't modify attributes of existing classes during runtime.

You could create a new type during runtime (not an anonymous type), but I think that's not such a good idea. I'm sure whatever component you're using, it allows you to specify the appearance explicitly.

svick
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  • See also http://stackoverflow.com/questions/129285/can-attributes-be-added-dynamically-in-c. – svick Oct 13 '11 at 13:13
  • True. Attributes are non-dynamic by design. I believe this has caused many projects to be redesigned. Often attributes provide the most elegant solution and seem suitable during the start of a project. But as the project grows you start realizing one or two of the attributes need to be dynamic.. Usually end up having to redesign everything and remove ALL attributes if you want to keep thing consistent. – Drkawashima Apr 25 '13 at 13:11