Generic custom method to convert one object type to another in c#

Question

I, am trying to implement a generic method to convert one object to another object in c#.

Here is the some code I tried

 public interface IDTOMapper<TSource, TDestination>
        {
            TDestination Convert(TSource source_object);
        }


    public class DtoMapper<TSource, TDestination> : IDTOMapper<TSource, TDestination>
        {
            public TDestination Convert(TSource source_object)
            {
           // How to write the code to convert one class object to another

            }
        }

The code which I used inside the convert method has lots of errors.Can anyone let me know how to implement with any class type objects. Some example I found has specific class object conversion.

When I google I found there is auto-mapper library I, don't want to use auto-mapper library . Just want to write custom generic method

Some of the reference

Best Practices for mapping one object to another

https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/301580/best-practices-regarding-type-mapping-and-extension-methods

Generic method to map objects of different types

https://www.codeproject.com/Tips/781202/Csharp-Custom-Mapper

Answer 1

You say you don't want to use an auto-mapper, but what you're trying to write is the same thing. You're just going to reinvent the wheel and write your own auto-mapper.

I strongly suggest using an existing library like AutoMapper. It'll be faster and have less bugs.

If not that, then I myself would avoid trying to automate this task. For each ViewModel class, add a method CopyFromBusiness and write the copying code there yourself by hand. Yes, it's quite repetitive, but writing your own auto-mapper will be nearly as much work and the result will invariably be poorer than an existing library. A manually written CopyFromBusiness method will be the fastest possible option (at runtime) and in the future the code will be a lot easier to maintain because there will not be any hidden magic.