Dear community,
I need your help in order to cast a type 'dynamically', using the GetType() method to set the target Type instead of hardcoding the Type.
Below you can find a simple sample code.
procedure division using inObj as object.
set (inObj as type Class2)::c1x1 to "test". <- OK but hardcoded
set (inObj as type inObj::GetType)::c1x1 to "test". <- Error COBCH0813
When I try to compile (VC v2.2u2) the above code, I get the error "COBCH0813 : Feature not yet supported when compiling for .NET".
Does anyone have any suggestion or alternative solution?
#COBOLThe Visual COBOL forum would be a better place for this question. (Unfortunately the forums aren't organized in a terribly obvious manner.)
In any case, though, you should always preface a question like this by stating which environment you're compiling for - in this case .NET - because it makes a big difference when you're talking about extensions to the standard COBOL language.
All that said, I don't believe you can currently do this without using reflection - though someone who knows all the latest compiler features might correct me on that. Here's an example using reflection that works for .NET Managed COBOL under ED 2.2 Update 2.
$set sourceformat(variable)
$set ilusing"System"
$set ilusing"System.Reflection"
class-id testcb.
method-id Main (args as string occurs any) static.
declare testObj = new Class2
invoke self::TestCast(testObj)
display 'Value of testObj::c1x1 is "' testObj::c1x1 '"'
end method Main.
method-id TestCast (inObj as object) static.
declare objType = inObj::GetType
declare c1x1Prop = objType::GetProperty("c1x1")
invoke c1x1Prop::SetValue(inObj, "test")
end method TestCast.
end class testcb.
class-id Class2.
1 val string property as "c1x1".
end class Class2.
As you can see, method TestCast uses System.Type and System.Reflection.PropertyInfo to get dynamic access to a property named "c1x1", which it then sets to a string. Generally you'd want exception handling (try/catch) somewhere around this sort of thing, since you're bypassing static type checking.
