TypeExtensions

Purpose

Utilities for working with System.Type and reflection, implemented in TypeExtensions.cs. These helpers provide friendly type names and allow enumeration of members including those inherited via interfaces.

When to Use

• When you need human-friendly type names (especially for generics) for display or logging.
• When you need to enumerate properties/methods/events of an interface including inherited interfaces.

API Reference

• string PrintableName(this Type @this) — Returns a readable name for the type; for generic types it includes type parameters using recursive PrintableName calls.

• string Name(this Type @this) — Backwards-compatible alias for PrintableName used in older code/tests.

• string RenameToConcreteType(this Type @this) — Heuristic to map interface names to concrete-like names (trims leading I if followed by uppercase letter) while preserving generic notation.

• IEnumerable<PropertyInfo> GetAllProperties(this Type @this, BindingFlags bindingFlags = BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public) — Returns properties including those inherited through interfaces; for non-interfaces it removes DeclaredOnly to include inherited properties.

• IEnumerable<MethodInfo> GetAllMethods(this Type @this, BindingFlags bindingFlags = BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public) — Same as above for methods.

• IEnumerable<EventInfo> GetAllEvents(this Type @this, BindingFlags bindingFlags = BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public) — Same as above for events.

Examples

var name = typeof(Dictionary<string, int>).PrintableName(); // "Dictionary<String, Int32>"
var n = typeof(IList<int>).RenameToConcreteType(); // "List<Int32>" or "IList<Int32>" based on heuristic

foreach (var p in typeof(IMyInterface).GetAllProperties()) Console.WriteLine(p.Name);

Implementation Notes

• PrintableName strips the generic arity suffix (the \`) from generic type definitions and recursively formats type arguments.
• Interface member enumeration prevents cycles by tracking processed interface types in a HashSet<Type> when recursing.
• For non-interface types, the helper ensures inherited members are included by unsetting DeclaredOnly from the incoming binding flags.

Remarks

• These helpers are intended to be small and predictable. They do not attempt to produce C#-exact type syntax (e.g., they use type Name rather than FullName).
• Use PrintableName for logs, diagnostics, or user-facing type descriptions.

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This document matches the source in TypeExtensions.cs.