In C#, reflection is a process to get metadata of a type at runtime. The System.Reflection namespace contains required classes for reflection such as:
The System.Reflection.Emit namespace contains classes to emit metadata.
C# Type class represents type declarations for class types, interface types, enumeration types, array types, value types etc. It is found in System namespace. It inherits System.Reflection.MemberInfo class.
A list of important properties of Type class are given below:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Assembly | Gets the Assembly for this type. |
| AssemblyQualifiedName | Gets the Assembly qualified name for this type. |
| Attributes | Gets the Attributes associated with the type. |
| BaseType | Gets the base or parent type. |
| FullName | Gets the fully qualified name of the type. |
| IsAbstract | is used to check if the type is Abstract. |
| IsArray | is used to check if the type is Array. |
| IsClass | is used to check if the type is Class. |
| IsEnum | is used to check if the type is Enum. |
| IsInterface | is used to check if the type is Interface. |
| IsNested | is used to check if the type is Nested. |
| IsPrimitive | is used to check if the type is Primitive. |
| IsPointer | is used to check if the type is Pointer. |
| IsNotPublic | is used to check if the type is not Public. |
| IsPublic | is used to check if the type is Public. |
| IsSealed | is used to check if the type is Sealed. |
| IsSerializable | is used to check if the type is Serializable. |
| MemberType | is used to check if the type is Member type of Nested type. |
| Module | Gets the module of the type. |
| Name | Gets the name of the type. |
| Namespace | Gets the namespace of the type. |
A list of important methods of Type class are given below:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| GetConstructors() | Returns all the public constructors for the Type. |
| GetConstructors(BindingFlags) | Returns all the constructors for the Type with specified BindingFlags. |
| GetFields() | Returns all the public fields for the Type. |
| GetFields(BindingFlags) | Returns all the public constructors for the Type with specified BindingFlags. |
| GetMembers() | Returns all the public members for the Type. |
| GetMembers(BindingFlags) | Returns all the members for the Type with specified BindingFlags. |
| GetMethods() | Returns all the public methods for the Type. |
| GetMethods(BindingFlags) | Returns all the methods for the Type with specified BindingFlags. |
| GetProperties() | Returns all the public properties for the Type. |
| GetProperties(BindingFlags) | Returns all the properties for the Type with specified BindingFlags. |
| GetType() | Gets the current Type. |
| GetType(String) | Gets the Type for the given name. |
using System;
public class ReflectionExample
{
public static void Main()
{
int a = 10;
Type type = a.GetType();
Console.WriteLine(type);
}
}using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class ReflectionExample
{
public static void Main()
{
Type t = typeof(System.String);
Console.WriteLine(t.Assembly);
}
}using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class ReflectionExample
{
public static void Main()
{
Type t = typeof(System.String);
Console.WriteLine(t.FullName);
Console.WriteLine(t.BaseType);
Console.WriteLine(t.IsClass);
Console.WriteLine(t.IsEnum);
Console.WriteLine(t.IsInterface);
}
}using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class ReflectionExample
{
public static void Main()
{
Type t = typeof(System.String);
Console.WriteLine("Constructors of {0} type...", t);
ConstructorInfo[] ci = t.GetConstructors(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
foreach (ConstructorInfo c in ci)
{
Console.WriteLine(c);
}
}
}using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class ReflectionExample
{
public static void Main()
{
Type t = typeof(System.String);
Console.WriteLine("Methods of {0} type...", t);
MethodInfo[] ci = t.GetMethods(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
foreach (MethodInfo m in ci)
{
Console.WriteLine(m);
}
}
}using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class ReflectionExample
{
public static void Main()
{
Type t = typeof(System.String);
Console.WriteLine("Fields of {0} type...", t);
FieldInfo[] ci = t.GetFields(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.NonPublic);
foreach (FieldInfo f in ci)
{
Console.WriteLine(f);
}
}
}
