C# Language Specification

Base access

A base-access consists of the reserved word base followed by either a “.” token and an identifier or an argument-list enclosed in square brackets:

base-access:
base . identifier
base [ argument-list ]

A base-access is used to access base class members that are hidden by similarly named members in the current class or struct. A base-access is permitted only in the block of an instance constructor, an instance method, or an instance accessor. When base.I occurs in a class or struct, I must denote a member of the base class of that class or struct. Likewise, when base[E] occurs in a class, an applicable indexer must exist in the base class.

At binding-time, base-access expressions of the form base.I and base[E] are evaluated exactly as if they were written ((B)this).I and ((B)this)[E], where B is the base class of the class or struct in which the construct occurs. Thus, base.I and base[E] correspond to this.I and this[E], except this is viewed as an instance of the base class.

When a base-access references a virtual function member (a method, property, or indexer), the determination of which function member to invoke at run-time (§7.5.4) is changed. The function member that is invoked is determined by finding the most derived implementation (§10.6.3) of the function member with respect to B (instead of with respect to the run-time type of this, as would be usual in a non-base access). Thus, within an override of a virtual function member, a base-access can be used to invoke the inherited implementation of the function member. If the function member referenced by a base-access is abstract, a binding-time error occurs.

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