Essential C# 2.0

Chapter 18. The Common Language Infrastructure [View full size image] One of the first items that C# programmers encounter beyond the syntax is the context under which a C# program executes. This chapter discusses the underpinnings of how C...

Defining the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) Instead of generating instructions that a processor can interpret directly, the C# compiler generates instructions in an intermediate language, the Common Intermediate Language(CIL). A second com...

CLI Implementations There are currently four predominant implementations of the CLI, each with an accompanying implementation of a C# compiler. Table 18.1 describes these implementations. Table 18.1. Primary C# CompilersCompilerDescriptionMicroso...

C# Compilation to Machine Code The HelloWorld program listing from Chapter 1 is obviously C# code, and you compiled it for execution using the C# compiler. However, the processor still cannot directly interpret compiled C# code. An additional comp...

Runtime Even after the runtime converts the CIL code to machine code and starts to execute, it continues to maintain control of its execution. The code that executes under the context of an agent such as the runtime is managed code, and the proc...

Application Domains By introducing a layer between the program and the operating system, it is possible to implement virtual processes or applications known as application domains (app domains). An application domain behaves like an operating syst...

Assemblies, Manifests, and Modules Included in the CLI is the specification of the CIL output from a source language compiler, usually an assembly. In addition to the CIL instructions themselves, an assembly includes a manifest which is made up of...

Common Intermediate Language (CIL) Considering the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) name, another important feature of the CIL and the CLI is to support the interaction of multiple languages within the same application (instead of portabilit...

Common Type System (CTS) Regardless of the programming language, the resulting program operates internally on data types; therefore, the CLI includes the Common Type System (CTS). The CTS defines how types are structured and laid out in memory, as...

Common Language Specification (CLS) Since the language integration advantages provided by the CTS generally outweigh the costs of implementing it, the majority of source languages support the CTS. However, there is also a subset of CTS language co...

Base Class Library (BCL) In addition to providing a platform in which CIL code can execute, the CLI also defines a core set of class libraries that programs may employ, called the Base Class Library (BCL). These libraries provide foundational ty...

Metadata In addition to execution instructions, CIL code includes metadata about the types and files included in a program. The metadata includes the following: Descriptions of each type within a program or class libraryThe manifest information c...

Summary This chapter described many new terms and acronyms that are important to understanding the context under which C# programs run. The preponderance of three-letter acronyms can be confusing. Table 18.2 provides a summary list of the terms an...