Simplify Your Code with Reflection: Sidebar 1: To Reflect or Not To Reflect
The solution in this article relies on a technique called reflection, which many developers argue is too slow to use in a production application. I don't agree, obviously; I guess it all comes down to what is meant by "too slow." Given today's raw computing power, the tradeoff of speed versus usability is often stacked greatly in reflection's favor. You can use reflection to make your application easier to understand, more flexible, and easier to maintain--all of these benefits are conveyed by using reflection as described in this article. Of course, all this is moot without knowing exactly how much slower reflection is. My own tests indicate that, during a save process, the user must wait for an extra half second longer or so for the save to take place--an interval the user is unlikely to notice, anyway.