This print for content only-size & color not accurate 7" X 9-1/4" / casebound / malloy

■

Note

You will also find a number of 

CustomAttribute

tokens displayed by the MetaInfo window, which docu-

ments the attributes applied within the code base. You’ll learn about the role of .NET attributes later in this chapter.

Understanding Reflection

In the .NET universe, reflection is the process of runtime type discovery. Using reflection services,

you are able to programmatically obtain the same metadata information displayed by ildasm.exe

using a friendly object model. For example, through reflection, you can obtain a list of all types con-

tained within a given assembly (or *.netmodule), including the methods, fields, properties, and

events defined by a given type. You can also dynamically discover the set of interfaces supported by

a given type, the parameters of a method, and other related details (base classes, namespace infor-

mation, manifest data, and so forth).

C H A P T E R   1 6  

■

T Y P E   R E F L E C T I O N, L AT E   B I N D I N G, A N D  AT T R I B U T E - B A S E D   P R O G R A M M I N G

527

8849CH16.qxd  10/9/07  4:27 PM  Page 527

---

Like any namespace, System.Reflection contains a number of related types. Table 16-1 lists

some of the core items you should be familiar with.

Table 16-1.

A Sampling of Members of the System.Reflection Namespace