Updating Dynamic Columns Issue - linq

Question

I am trying to update values in table emp. Which column to update is dynamic.
public void updateEmployees(List<String> columnDb, List<String> columnValues)
{
var data = ctx.tblEmployee.Where(e => e.Id == empId).Select(e => e).SingleOrDefault();
....
data.columnDb = columnValues; // Pseudo
ctx.tblEmployee.Add(data);
ctx.SaveChanges();
}
How to update columns which are passed dynamically as a parameter?

Answer 1

You can do this with the power of Reflection.
Just iterate through properties of your object and set the value for the properties that you have in your list.
First, let's build a dictionary with property names and values from your parameters to make the value access easier:
var values = columnDb.Zip(columnValues,
(name, value) => new { Name = name, Value = value })
.ToDictionary(x => x.Name, x => x.Value);
Now, iterate through properties and set values:
var data = ctx.tblEmployee.SingleOrDefault(e => e.Id == empId);
foreach(PropertyInfo property in data.GetType().GetProperties())
{
// Check if property should be updated
if(values.ContainsKey(property.Name))
{
var value = values[property.Name];
// Change the type of the value to the type of the property
object converted = Convert.ChangeType(value, property.PropertyType);
// Set the property value
property.SetValue(data,values[property.Name]);
}
}
Of course, the code above assumes that there is a conversion between string and the type of the properties of your data object.