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csharp_reflection

The document discusses C# Reflection, which allows obtaining type information at runtime through the System.Reflection namespace. It details the uses of reflection, such as viewing attribute information, examining types in an assembly, and late binding to methods. Examples demonstrate how to create and read custom attributes using reflection in C# classes.

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Francisco Javier Benito Santiago
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3 views

csharp_reflection

The document discusses C# Reflection, which allows obtaining type information at runtime through the System.Reflection namespace. It details the uses of reflection, such as viewing attribute information, examining types in an assembly, and late binding to methods. Examples demonstrate how to create and read custom attributes using reflection in C# classes.

Uploaded by

Francisco Javier Benito Santiago
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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C# - REFLECTION

http://www.tutorialspoint.com/csharp/csharp_reflection.htm Copyright © tutorialspoint.com

Reflection objects are used for obtaining type information at runtime. The classes that give access to the metadata of a
running program are in the System.Reflection namespace.

The System.Reflection namespace contains classes that allow you to obtain information about the application and to
dynamically add types, values and objects to the application.

Uses of Reflection

Reflection has the following uses:

It allows view attribute information at runtime.

It allows examining various types in an assembly and instantiate these types.

It allows late binding to methods and properties

It allows creating new types at runtime and then performs some tasks using those types.

Viewing Metadata

We have mentioned in the preceding chapter that using reflection you can view the attribute information.

The MemberInfo object of the System.Reflection class need to be initialized for discovering the attributes asscociated
with a class. To do this, you define an object of the target class, as:

System.Reflection.MemberInfo info = typeof(MyClass);

The following program demonstrates this:

using System;

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.All)]
public class HelpAttribute : System.Attribute
{
public readonly string Url;

public string Topic // Topic is a named parameter


{
get
{
return topic;
}
set
{

topic = value;
}
}

public HelpAttribute(string url) // url is a positional parameter


{
this.Url = url;
}

private string topic;


}
[HelpAttribute("Information on the class MyClass")]
class MyClass
class MyClass
{
}

namespace AttributeAppl
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
System.Reflection.MemberInfo info = typeof(MyClass);
object[] attributes = info.GetCustomAttributes(true);
for (int i = 0; i < attributes.Length; i++)
{
System.Console.WriteLine(attributes[i]);
}
Console.ReadKey();

}
}
}

When it is compiled and run, it displays the name of the custom attributes attached to the class MyClass:

HelpAttribute

Example

In this example, we will use the DeBugInfo attribute created in the previous chapter and use reflection to read metadata
in the Rectangle class.

using System;
using System.Reflection;
namespace BugFixApplication
{
//a custom attribute BugFix to be
//assigned to a class and its members
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class |
AttributeTargets.Constructor |
AttributeTargets.Field |
AttributeTargets.Method |
AttributeTargets.Property,
AllowMultiple = true)]

public class DeBugInfo : System.Attribute


{
private int bugNo;
private string developer;
private string lastReview;
public string message;

public DeBugInfo(int bg, string dev, string d)


{
this.bugNo = bg;
this.developer = dev;
this.lastReview = d;
}

public int BugNo


{
get
{
return bugNo;
}
}
public string Developer
{
get
{
return developer;
}
}
public string LastReview
{
get
{
return lastReview;
}
}
public string Message
{
get
{
return message;
}
set
{
message = value;
}
}
}
[DeBugInfo(45, "Zara Ali", "12/8/2012",
Message = "Return type mismatch")]
[DeBugInfo(49, "Nuha Ali", "10/10/2012",
Message = "Unused variable")]
class Rectangle
{
//member variables
protected double length;
protected double width;
public Rectangle(double l, double w)
{
length = l;
width = w;
}
[DeBugInfo(55, "Zara Ali", "19/10/2012",
Message = "Return type mismatch")]
public double GetArea()
{
return length * width;
}
[DeBugInfo(56, "Zara Ali", "19/10/2012")]
public void Display()
{
Console.WriteLine("Length: {0}", length);
Console.WriteLine("Width: {0}", width);
Console.WriteLine("Area: {0}", GetArea());
}
}//end class Rectangle

class ExecuteRectangle
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Rectangle r = new Rectangle(4.5, 7.5);
r.Display();
Type type = typeof(Rectangle);
//iterating through the attribtues of the Rectangle class
foreach (Object attributes in type.GetCustomAttributes(false))
{
DeBugInfo dbi = (DeBugInfo)attributes;
if (null != dbi)
{
Console.WriteLine("Bug no: {0}", dbi.BugNo);
Console.WriteLine("Developer: {0}", dbi.Developer);
Console.WriteLine("Last Reviewed: {0}",
dbi.LastReview);
Console.WriteLine("Remarks: {0}", dbi.Message);
}
}

//iterating through the method attribtues


foreach (MethodInfo m in type.GetMethods())
{
foreach (Attribute a in m.GetCustomAttributes(true))
{
DeBugInfo dbi = (DeBugInfo)a;
if (null != dbi)
{
Console.WriteLine("Bug no: {0}, for Method: {1}",
dbi.BugNo, m.Name);
Console.WriteLine("Developer: {0}", dbi.Developer);
Console.WriteLine("Last Reviewed: {0}",
dbi.LastReview);
Console.WriteLine("Remarks: {0}", dbi.Message);
}
}
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces following result:

Length: 4.5
Width: 7.5
Area: 33.75
Bug No: 49
Developer: Nuha Ali
Last Reviewed: 10/10/2012
Remarks: Unused variable
Bug No: 45
Developer: Zara Ali
Last Reviewed: 12/8/2012
Remarks: Return type mismatch
Bug No: 55, for Method: GetArea
Developer: Zara Ali
Last Reviewed: 19/10/2012
Remarks: Return type mismatch
Bug No: 56, for Method: Display
Developer: Zara Ali
Last Reviewed: 19/10/2012
Remarks:

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