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I'm using OOP and MVVM in a WPF c# application. The goal is for the resulting object (data-bound to user interface) to accurately represent a product. One specific area of the product is highly configurable. For conceptual purposes, imagine a boat which can have various means of propulsion. A submerged prop motor or above water fan motor may be attached at the stern, and they would have very different properties.

At the model level, I could have an interface typed property for this PropulsionDevice, with the interface defining all the required information I need for pricing and weighting the finished product. How to assign this property based on user input is where I am unsure what to do. Creating an enumeration with an item for each class implementing my interface, and presenting it in a ComboBox seems clunky and naive (the disconnect between the enum item and the class seems wrong). But, I'm not sure if meta-programming with Custom Attributes or using Reflection would be a better option. Maybe there is another option?

Any suggestions on how to allow for flexibility in my c# classes, as well as how to present this in the UI?

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I see no problem in using reflection to find each class that implements the desired interface and presenting it in a ComboBox. You could even use IoC to do this, so you don't have to worry about it yourself.

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  • thanks for the response. I like the idea of an IoC container providing the options for me. The model I am referring to is contained in a library project, which is then referenced from the WPF application. Would it be best to keep the View/DataTemplate portion of the implementing classes in the WPF application, or somehow expose it through the container as well? I'm thinking if a new "configuration" were ever offered it would require changes in the library as well as in the WPF application. The more I think about it though, that's kind of true for the entire library... bad?
    – Ethan
    Jan 20, 2014 at 18:46

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