The Common Intermediate Language (CIL) is the core language of . NET. Although . NET developers often use a high-level language (such as C# or VB . NET) to develop their systems, they can use CIL to do anything allowed by. NET specificationswhich is not the case for C# and VB . NET. Understanding how CIL works will provide you with a deep, language-independent insight into the core parts of . NET. This knowledge is essential for creating dynamic types, a powerful part of the . NET Framework.
In CIL Programming: Under the Hood of . NET, Jason Bock offers an in-depth tutorial on programming in CIL. First, Bock discusses the basics of . NET assemblies and manifests. He then shows how to create assemblies in . NETincluding the ilasm directives and CIL opcodes, and how these are used to define assemblies, classes, field, methods, and method definitions. Bock also covers the ways in which C#, VB . NET, and other non-Microsoft languages emit CIL, and how they differ. Finally, he reveals how developers can create dynamic assemblies at runtime via the Emitter classes.
After reading this guide, you will gain a better understanding of CIL and how to program directly into it. CIL Programming: Under the Hood of . NET is a must-have on every . NET developer's desk!
