Reflection
Adding custom solutions is possible, adding capacity and Capability, flexibility and abilities beyond measure. The .NET Framework environment opens these possibilities up for developers and programmers. This inter-operability, compatibility, options and solutions, from this platform allows and enables opening, running and generating assemblies (and the types contained within assemblies), quite drastically and dynamically. Especially when it comes to examining and running code NOT available at runtime (loading add-ons for example). Implementing and know how of this key concept is crucial. Reflection enables metadata creation, MSIL-use, as well as a PEfile, from the SystemReflection.Emit Namespace.
This is where developers get to deal with external assemblies, extendibility and adding code. Types and call methods in a dynamically loaded assembly, how to load assemblies, define and examine attributes , generating dynamically types and assemblies. Plug-ins at runtime is a good example of the use of reflection techniques and methods. Loading and running add-ons, searching a folder to run code within every add-on it finds (console application loading two assembly, class, method, attributes in every class, running the method) is made possible using this utility. Assembly, AssemblyGetType, Type.GetConstructor, MethodInfo, Invoke, Assembly.Info, Assembly.GetCustom.Attributes, Builder, ILGenerator are all used and called on to make these extend-ability possible.
Applications of/for reflection, include things like: supporting an add-on, creating a new application (code-writing code), creating meta-data, MSIL and a PE file, creating and reading attributes for new assembly, add new functionality, load the assembly to run during runtime, providing a method to replace it with a custom assembly, deriving a class from the Binder class to control type conversations for dynamic code
Key Exam Points
- Use for, with VB, C#, console apps, adding namespaces and library references.
- Review chapter on reflection
- Take the practice test
Related Terms
Intermediate language (IL)
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