Instantiate sub classes recursively without calling constructor? - vb.net

Question

Assume the following example class which mimics the type of class generated from an XSD file:
Public Class MyClass
Public Class MyInnerClass1
Public Class MyInnerInnerClass1
Public Property MyProp1 as string
Public Property MyProp2 as string
...
End Class
...
Public Property MyInnerInnerClassProp1 as MyInnerInnerClass1
End Class
Public property MyInnerClassProp1 as MyInnerClass1
Public property MyInnerClassProp2 as MyInnerClass2
...
End Class
Notice that there are no constructors. The level of inner classes, in this particular case, can go 5 levels deep, possibly circularly, before hitting a base property such as Property MyProp1 as string.
How can I recursively iterate through ALL of the public writable properties and initialize them as new instances of that object type without constructors?
For example, here is my current code which only goes one level deep at the moment?
Private Shared Sub InitProperties(obj As Object)
For Each prop As Object In obj.[GetType]().GetProperties(BindingFlags.[Public] Or BindingFlags.Instance).Where(Function(p) p.CanWrite)
Dim type__1 = prop.PropertyType
Dim constr = type__1.GetConstructor(Type.EmptyTypes)
'find paramless const
If type__1.IsClass Then
Dim propertyInstance = DirectCast(FormatterServices.GetUninitializedObject(type__1.GetType()), Object)
'Dim propInst = Activator.CreateInstance(type__1)
'prop.SetValue(obj, propInst, Nothing)
InitProperties(propertyInstance)
End If
Next
End Sub

Answer 1

I did some small edits to your code to get it to work on the example class you provided. (Although I did change the string properties to Integer to avoid one error.) I also added an argument for limiting the number of recursive calls, and a check that a property is equal to nothing before initializing it. (This check will only make a difference if you have circular references between static classes.)
Private Shared Sub InitProperties(obj As Object, Optional ByVal depth As Integer = 5)
For Each prop As PropertyInfo In obj.GetType().GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public Or BindingFlags.Instance).Where(Function(p) p.CanWrite)
Dim type__1 As Type = prop.PropertyType
If type__1.IsClass And IsNothing(prop.GetValue(obj, Nothing)) And depth > 0 Then
Dim propertyInstance As Object = System.Runtime.Serialization.FormatterServices.GetUninitializedObject(type__1)
prop.SetValue(obj, propertyInstance, Nothing)
InitProperties(propertyInstance, depth - 1)
End If
Next
End Sub