Is it possible to instantiate a parameterized Generic

Question

Hi I was wondering if it possible to instantiate a parameterized Generic eg public T GetListViewData () where T : AbstractOrganizationalUnit new() { return new T(this.OrganizationalUnitId DateTime.Now)); } first I tried it having the AbstractOrganizationalUnit-class abstract. Then I modified it to public. AbstractOrganizationalUnit has a constructor which actually takes this signature and so do all child classes of AbstractOrganizationalUnit. Any idea how to approach that??? thanks in advance antoschka

Sunny Chen · Answer

Yes it is possible but firstly you should remove the new() constraint on the method signature. 1. Create the abstract class. public abstract class AbstractOU { public AbstractOU(int id DateTime dt) { } } 2. Create the derived class: public class OU : AbstractOU { public OU (int a DateTime b) : base(ab){} } 3. Create your method which looks like this: private T GetOU () where T:AbstractOU { //return new T(100 DateTime.Now); //Type type = Type.GetType(T); T ret = (T) Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(T) new object[] { 100 DateTime.Now }); return ret; } If you add the new() constraint on the method signature above the c# compiler would require a parameterized default constructor on the class definition when you call the method by : AbstractOU a = GetOU (); Hope this helps!