.net - C# - code to order by a property using the property name as a string

Question

This question already has answers here:

Answer 1

I would offer this alternative to what everyone else has posted.

System.Reflection.PropertyInfo prop = typeof(YourType).GetProperty("PropertyName");

query = query.OrderBy(x => prop.GetValue(x, null));

This avoids repeated calls to the reflection API for obtaining the property. Now the only repeated call is obtaining the value.

However

I would advocate using a PropertyDescriptor instead, as this will allow for custom TypeDescriptors to be assigned to your type, making it possible to have lightweight operations for retrieving properties and values. In the absence of a custom descriptor it will fall back to reflection anyhow.

PropertyDescriptor prop = TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(YourType)).Find("PropertyName");

query = query.OrderBy(x => prop.GetValue(x));

As for speeding it up, check out Marc Gravel's HyperDescriptor project on CodeProject. I've used this with great success; it's a life saver for high-performance data binding and dynamic property operations on business objects.