How to convert a list into data table

I have a data list with some property. I want to convert that list data into data table. How to convert a list into datable.

Answers:

Thank you for visiting the Q&A section on Magenaut. Please note that all the answers may not help you solve the issue immediately. So please treat them as advisements. If you found the post helpful (or not), leave a comment & I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Method 1

Add this function and call it, it will convert List to DataTable.

public static DataTable ToDataTable<T>(List<T> items)
{
        DataTable dataTable = new DataTable(typeof(T).Name);
    
        //Get all the properties
        PropertyInfo[] Props = typeof(T).GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
        foreach (PropertyInfo prop in Props)
        {
            //Defining type of data column gives proper data table 
            var type = (prop.PropertyType.IsGenericType && prop.PropertyType.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Nullable<>) ? Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(prop.PropertyType) : prop.PropertyType);
            //Setting column names as Property names
            dataTable.Columns.Add(prop.Name, type);
        }
        foreach (T item in items)
        {
           var values = new object[Props.Length];
           for (int i = 0; i < Props.Length; i++)
           {
                //inserting property values to datatable rows
                values[i] = Props[i].GetValue(item, null);
           }
           dataTable.Rows.Add(values);
      }
      //put a breakpoint here and check datatable
      return dataTable;
}

Method 2

you can use this extension method and call it like this.

DataTable dt =   YourList.ToDataTable();

public static DataTable ToDataTable<T>(this List<T> iList)
        {
            DataTable dataTable = new DataTable();
            PropertyDescriptorCollection propertyDescriptorCollection =
                TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(T));
            for (int i = 0; i < propertyDescriptorCollection.Count; i++)
            {
                PropertyDescriptor propertyDescriptor = propertyDescriptorCollection[i];
                Type type = propertyDescriptor.PropertyType;

                if (type.IsGenericType && type.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Nullable<>))
                    type = Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(type);


                dataTable.Columns.Add(propertyDescriptor.Name, type);
            }
            object[] values = new object[propertyDescriptorCollection.Count];
            foreach (T iListItem in iList)
            {
                for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
                {
                    values[i] = propertyDescriptorCollection[i].GetValue(iListItem);
                }
                dataTable.Rows.Add(values);
            }
            return dataTable;
        }

Method 3

private DataTable CreateDataTable(IList<T> item)
{
    Type type = typeof(T);
    var properties = type.GetProperties();

    DataTable dataTable = new DataTable();
    foreach (PropertyInfo info in properties)
    {
        dataTable.Columns.Add(new DataColumn(info.Name, Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(info.PropertyType) ?? info.PropertyType));
    }

    foreach (T entity in item)
    {
        object[] values = new object[properties.Length];
        for (int i = 0; i < properties.Length; i++)
        {
            values[i] = properties[i].GetValue(entity);
        }

        dataTable.Rows.Add(values);
    }
    return dataTable;
}

All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0