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@jonathanconway
Created August 12, 2012 08:09
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Determine whether a type is simple.
public static class TypeExtensions
{
/// <summary>
/// Determine whether a type is simple (String, Decimal, DateTime, etc)
/// or complex (i.e. custom class with public properties and methods).
/// </summary>
/// <see cref="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2442534/how-to-test-if-type-is-primitive"/>
public static bool IsSimpleType(
this Type type)
{
return
type.IsValueType ||
type.IsPrimitive ||
new Type[] {
typeof(String),
typeof(Decimal),
typeof(DateTime),
typeof(DateTimeOffset),
typeof(TimeSpan),
typeof(Guid)
}.Contains(type) ||
Convert.GetTypeCode(type) != TypeCode.Object;
}
}
@odises
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odises commented Jul 5, 2013

Very useful, thanks bro!

@congdanhqx-zz
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I think Decimal, DateTime, DateTimeOffset, TimeSpan, Guid are ValueType. Not necessary to mention them later.

@D-Bullock
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This is great, thanks!

@ZiadJ
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ZiadJ commented Jul 10, 2014

That seems to do the job for me:

public static bool IsPrimitiveType(Type type)
{
    return (type == typeof(object) || Type.GetTypeCode(type) != TypeCode.Object);
}

I found it on the same page on stackoverflow by the way. It has less overhead and is way simpler.

@gsscoder
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Thanks, you avoided me to write one...

@dedo1911
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Thanks! Very useful

@hschachn
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Thank you!

@M3mbrillo
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Thank!!!

@goforgold
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IsValueType returns true for Collections which I don't want. I just removed it from your condition and used it.

@gabbsmo
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gabbsmo commented Apr 27, 2023

That seems to do the job for me:

public static bool IsPrimitiveType(Type type)
{
    return (type == typeof(object) || Type.GetTypeCode(type) != TypeCode.Object);
}

I found it on the same page on stackoverflow by the way. It has less overhead and is way simpler.

This variant will not return true for Guid, DateTimeOffset and possibly others.

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