C# - How to Determine Whether a Type Is a Number

C# - how to determine whether a Type is a number

Try this:

Type type = object.GetType();
bool isNumber = (type.IsPrimitiveImple && type != typeof(bool) && type != typeof(char));

The primitive types are Boolean, Byte,
SByte, Int16, UInt16, Int32, UInt32,
Int64, UInt64, Char, Double,and
Single.

Taking Guillaume's solution a little further:

public static bool IsNumericType(this object o)
{   
  switch (Type.GetTypeCode(o.GetType()))
  {
    case TypeCode.Byte:
    case TypeCode.SByte:
    case TypeCode.UInt16:
    case TypeCode.UInt32:
    case TypeCode.UInt64:
    case TypeCode.Int16:
    case TypeCode.Int32:
    case TypeCode.Int64:
    case TypeCode.Decimal:
    case TypeCode.Double:
    case TypeCode.Single:
      return true;
    default:
      return false;
  }
}

Usage:

int i = 32;
i.IsNumericType(); // True

string s = "Hello World";
s.IsNumericType(); // False

Identify if a string is a number

int n;
bool isNumeric = int.TryParse("123", out n);

Update As of C# 7:

var isNumeric = int.TryParse("123", out int n);

or if you don't need the number you can discard the out parameter

var isNumeric = int.TryParse("123", out _);

The var s can be replaced by their respective types!

Using .Net, how can I determine if a type is a Numeric ValueType?

A few years late here, but here's my solution (you can choose whether to include boolean). Solves for the Nullable case. XUnit test included

/// <summary>
/// Determines if a type is numeric.  Nullable numeric types are considered numeric.
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>
/// Boolean is not considered numeric.
/// </remarks>
public static bool IsNumericType( Type type )
{
    if (type == null)
    {
        return false;
    }

    switch (Type.GetTypeCode(type))
    {
        case TypeCode.Byte:
        case TypeCode.Decimal:
        case TypeCode.Double:
        case TypeCode.Int16:
        case TypeCode.Int32:
        case TypeCode.Int64:
        case TypeCode.SByte:
        case TypeCode.Single:
        case TypeCode.UInt16:
        case TypeCode.UInt32:
        case TypeCode.UInt64:
            return true;
        case TypeCode.Object:
            if ( type.IsGenericType && type.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Nullable<>))
            {
               return IsNumericType(Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(type));
            }
            return false;
    }
    return false;
}

/// <summary>
/// Tests the IsNumericType method.
/// </summary>
[Fact]
public void IsNumericTypeTest()
{
    // Non-numeric types
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(null));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(object)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(DBNull)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(bool)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(char)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(DateTime)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(string)));

    // Arrays of numeric and non-numeric types
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(object[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(DBNull[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(bool[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(char[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(DateTime[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(string[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(byte[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(decimal[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(double[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(short[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(int[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(long[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(sbyte[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(float[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(ushort[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(uint[])));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(ulong[])));

    // numeric types
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(byte)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(decimal)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(double)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(short)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(int)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(long)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(sbyte)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(float)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(ushort)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(uint)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(ulong)));

    // Nullable non-numeric types
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(bool?)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(char?)));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(DateTime?)));

    // Nullable numeric types
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(byte?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(decimal?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(double?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(short?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(int?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(long?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(sbyte?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(float?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(ushort?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(uint?)));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(typeof(ulong?)));

    // Testing with GetType because of handling with non-numerics. See:
    // http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms366789.aspx

    // Using GetType - non-numeric
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType((new object()).GetType()));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(DBNull.Value.GetType()));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(true.GetType()));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType('a'.GetType()));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType((new DateTime(2009, 1, 1)).GetType()));
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(string.Empty.GetType()));

    // Using GetType - numeric types
    // ReSharper disable RedundantCast
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType((new byte()).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(43.2m.GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(43.2d.GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((short)2).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((int)2).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((long)2).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((sbyte)2).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(2f.GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((ushort)2).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((uint)2).GetType()));
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(((ulong)2).GetType()));
    // ReSharper restore RedundantCast

    // Using GetType - nullable non-numeric types
    bool? nullableBool = true;
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableBool.GetType()));
    char? nullableChar = ' ';
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableChar.GetType()));
    DateTime? nullableDateTime = new DateTime(2009, 1, 1);
    Assert.False(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableDateTime.GetType()));

    // Using GetType - nullable numeric types
    byte? nullableByte = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableByte.GetType()));
    decimal? nullableDecimal = 12.2m;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableDecimal.GetType()));
    double? nullableDouble = 12.32;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableDouble.GetType()));
    short? nullableInt16 = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableInt16.GetType()));
    short? nullableInt32 = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableInt32.GetType()));
    short? nullableInt64 = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableInt64.GetType()));
    sbyte? nullableSByte = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableSByte.GetType()));
    float? nullableSingle = 3.2f;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableSingle.GetType()));
    ushort? nullableUInt16 = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableUInt16.GetType()));
    ushort? nullableUInt32 = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableUInt32.GetType()));
    ushort? nullableUInt64 = 12;
    Assert.True(TypeHelper.IsNumericType(nullableUInt64.GetType()));
}

Checking if an object is a number

You will simply need to do a type check for each of the basic numeric types.

Here's an extension method that should do the job:

public static bool IsNumber(this object value)
{
    return value is sbyte
            || value is byte
            || value is short
            || value is ushort
            || value is int
            || value is uint
            || value is long
            || value is ulong
            || value is float
            || value is double
            || value is decimal;
}

This should cover all numeric types.

Update

It seems you do actually want to parse the number from a string during deserialisation. In this case, it would probably just be best to use double.TryParse.

string value = "123.3";
double num;
if (!double.TryParse(value, out num))
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Value is not a number.");

Of course, this wouldn't handle very large integers/long decimals, but if that is the case you just need to add additional calls to long.TryParse / decimal.TryParse / whatever else.

Type Checking: typeof, GetType, or is?

All are different.

  • typeof takes a type name (which you specify at compile time).
  • GetType gets the runtime type of an instance.
  • is returns true if an instance is in the inheritance tree.

Example

class Animal { } 
class Dog : Animal { }

void PrintTypes(Animal a) { 
    Console.WriteLine(a.GetType() == typeof(Animal)); // false 
    Console.WriteLine(a is Animal);                   // true 
    Console.WriteLine(a.GetType() == typeof(Dog));    // true
    Console.WriteLine(a is Dog);                      // true 
}

Dog spot = new Dog(); 
PrintTypes(spot);

What about typeof(T)? Is it also resolved at compile time?

Yes. T is always what the type of the expression is. Remember, a generic method is basically a whole bunch of methods with the appropriate type. Example:

string Foo<T>(T parameter) { return typeof(T).Name; }

Animal probably_a_dog = new Dog();
Dog    definitely_a_dog = new Dog();

Foo(probably_a_dog); // this calls Foo<Animal> and returns "Animal"
Foo<Animal>(probably_a_dog); // this is exactly the same as above
Foo<Dog>(probably_a_dog); // !!! This will not compile. The parameter expects a Dog, you cannot pass in an Animal.

Foo(definitely_a_dog); // this calls Foo<Dog> and returns "Dog"
Foo<Dog>(definitely_a_dog); // this is exactly the same as above.
Foo<Animal>(definitely_a_dog); // this calls Foo<Animal> and returns "Animal". 
Foo((Animal)definitely_a_dog); // this does the same as above, returns "Animal"

How can I check if a string is a number?

Look up double.TryParse() if you're talking about numbers like 1, -2 and 3.14159. Some others are suggesting int.TryParse(), but that will fail on decimals.

string candidate = "3.14159";
if (double.TryParse(candidate, out var parsedNumber))
{
    // parsedNumber is a valid number!
}

EDIT: As Lukasz points out below, we should be mindful of the thread culture when parsing numbers with a decimal separator, i.e. do this to be safe:

double.TryParse(candidate, NumberStyles.AllowDecimalPoint, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, out var parsedNumber)

How to find out if a numeric type is signed or unsigned in C#

There aren't that many numeric types that are unsigned, so why not compose a list of that:

if (new Type[] { typeof(ushort), typeof(uint), typeof(ulong), typeof(byte) }.Contains(type))
{
    // unsigned.
}

Or if you just want to compare the value (here o):

if (o is ushort || o is uint || o is ulong || o is byte)
{
    // unsigned.
}

typeof() to check for Numeric values

There's nothing much to do, unfortunately. But from C# 3 onwards, you can do something fancier:

public static class NumericTypeExtension
{
    public static bool IsNumeric(this Type dataType)
    {
        if (dataType == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("dataType");

        return (dataType == typeof(int)
                || dataType == typeof(double)
                || dataType == typeof(long)
                || dataType == typeof(short)
                || dataType == typeof(float)
                || dataType == typeof(Int16)
                || dataType == typeof(Int32)
                || dataType == typeof(Int64)
                || dataType == typeof(uint)
                || dataType == typeof(UInt16)
                || dataType == typeof(UInt32)
                || dataType == typeof(UInt64)
                || dataType == typeof(sbyte)
                || dataType == typeof(Single)
               );
    }
}

so your original code can be written like this:

if (!DC.DataType.IsNumeric())
{
      MessageBox.Show("Non decimal data cant be calculated");
      return;
}

Related Topics

Passing Array of Strings to Webmethod with Variable Number of Arguments Using Jquery Ajax

Curiously Recurring Template Pattern and Generics Constraints (C#)

Garbage Collection When Using Anonymous Delegates for Event Handling

Is There a Reasonable Approach to "Default" Type Parameters in C# Generics

Does Foreach Evaluate the Array at Every Iteration

Wait for a While Without Blocking Main Thread

Converting Image to Base64

ASP.NET How to Stream File to User

How to Send a File and Form Data with Httpclient in C#

How to Set the Windows Default Printer in C#

How to Turn Off Impersonation Just in a Couple Instances

Using Linq with 2D Array, Select Not Found

Autoresize Textbox Control Vertically

Writing String at the Same Position Using Console.Write in C# 2.0

The Entity Type 'Microsoft.Aspnet.Identity.Entityframework.Identityuserlogin<String>' Requires a Key to Be Defined

Rotate a Point by Another Point in 2D

Can the Oracle Managed Driver Use Async/Await Properly

String.Replace Ignoring Case


Leave a reply



Submit