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MethodBuilder Class

Defines and represents a method (or constructor) on a dynamic class.

System.Object
  System.Reflection.MemberInfo
    System.Reflection.MethodBase
      System.Reflection.MethodInfo
        System.Reflection.Emit.MethodBuilder

Namespace:  System.Reflection.Emit
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
[ClassInterfaceAttribute(ClassInterfaceType.None)]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
[HostProtectionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, MayLeakOnAbort = true)]
public sealed class MethodBuilder : MethodInfo, 
	_MethodBuilder

The MethodBuilder type exposes the following members.

  Name Description
Public property Attributes Retrieves the attributes for this method. (Overrides MethodBase.Attributes.)
Public property CallingConvention Returns the calling convention of the method. (Overrides MethodBase.CallingConvention.)
Public property ContainsGenericParameters Not supported for this type. (Overrides MethodBase.ContainsGenericParameters.)
Public property DeclaringType Returns the type that declares this method. (Overrides MemberInfo.DeclaringType.)
Public property InitLocals Gets or sets a Boolean value that specifies whether the local variables in this method are zero initialized. The default value of this property is true.
Public property IsAbstract Gets a value indicating whether the method is abstract. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsAssembly Gets a value indicating whether the potential visibility of this method or constructor is described by MethodAttributes.Assembly; that is, the method or constructor is visible at most to other types in the same assembly, and is not visible to derived types outside the assembly. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsConstructor Gets a value indicating whether the method is a constructor. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsFamily Gets a value indicating whether the visibility of this method or constructor is described by MethodAttributes.Family; that is, the method or constructor is visible only within its class and derived classes. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsFamilyAndAssembly Gets a value indicating whether the visibility of this method or constructor is described by MethodAttributes.FamANDAssem; that is, the method or constructor can be called by derived classes, but only if they are in the same assembly. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsFamilyOrAssembly Gets a value indicating whether the potential visibility of this method or constructor is described by MethodAttributes.FamORAssem; that is, the method or constructor can be called by derived classes wherever they are, and by classes in the same assembly. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsFinal Gets a value indicating whether this method is final. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsGenericMethod Gets a value indicating whether the method is a generic method. (Overrides MethodBase.IsGenericMethod.)
Public property IsGenericMethodDefinition Gets a value indicating whether the current MethodBuilder object represents the definition of a generic method. (Overrides MethodBase.IsGenericMethodDefinition.)
Public property IsHideBySig Gets a value indicating whether only a member of the same kind with exactly the same signature is hidden in the derived class. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsPrivate Gets a value indicating whether this member is private. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsPublic Gets a value indicating whether this is a public method. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsSecurityCritical Throws a NotSupportedException in all cases. (Overrides MethodBase.IsSecurityCritical.)
Public property IsSecuritySafeCritical Throws a NotSupportedException in all cases. (Overrides MethodBase.IsSecuritySafeCritical.)
Public property IsSecurityTransparent Throws a NotSupportedException in all cases. (Overrides MethodBase.IsSecurityTransparent.)
Public property IsSpecialName Gets a value indicating whether this method has a special name. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsStatic Gets a value indicating whether the method is static. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsVirtual Gets a value indicating whether the method is virtual. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property MemberType Gets a MemberTypes value indicating that this member is a method. (Inherited from MethodInfo.)
Public property MetadataToken Gets a value that identifies a metadata element. (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Public property MethodHandle Retrieves the internal handle for the method. Use this handle to access the underlying metadata handle. (Overrides MethodBase.MethodHandle.)
Public property Module Gets the module in which the current method is being defined. (Overrides MemberInfo.Module.)
Public property Name Retrieves the name of this method. (Overrides MemberInfo.Name.)
Public property ReflectedType Retrieves the class that was used in reflection to obtain this object. (Overrides MemberInfo.ReflectedType.)
Public property ReturnParameter Gets a ParameterInfo object that contains information about the return type of the method, such as whether the return type has custom modifiers. (Overrides MethodInfo.ReturnParameter.)
Public property ReturnType Gets the return type of the method represented by this MethodBuilder. (Overrides MethodInfo.ReturnType.)
Public property ReturnTypeCustomAttributes Returns the custom attributes of the method's return type. (Overrides MethodInfo.ReturnTypeCustomAttributes.)
Public property Signature Retrieves the signature of the method.
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  Name Description
Public method AddDeclarativeSecurity Adds declarative security to this method.
Public method CreateMethodBody Creates the body of the method using a supplied byte array of Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) instructions.
Public method DefineGenericParameters Sets the number of generic type parameters for the current method, specifies their names, and returns an array of GenericTypeParameterBuilder objects that can be used to define their constraints.
Public method DefineParameter Sets the parameter attributes and the name of a parameter of this method, or of the return value of this method. Returns a ParameterBuilder that can be used to apply custom attributes.
Public method Equals Determines whether the given object is equal to this instance. (Overrides MethodInfo.Equals(Object).)
Protected method Finalize Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method GetBaseDefinition Return the base implementation for a method. (Overrides MethodInfo.GetBaseDefinition().)
Public method GetCustomAttributes(Boolean) Returns all the custom attributes defined for this method. (Overrides MemberInfo.GetCustomAttributes(Boolean).)
Public method GetCustomAttributes(Type, Boolean) Returns the custom attributes identified by the given type. (Overrides MemberInfo.GetCustomAttributes(Type, Boolean).)
Public method GetCustomAttributesData Returns a list of CustomAttributeData objects representing data about the attributes that have been applied to the target member. (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Public method GetGenericArguments Returns an array of GenericTypeParameterBuilder objects that represent the type parameters of the method, if it is generic. (Overrides MethodInfo.GetGenericArguments().)
Public method GetGenericMethodDefinition Returns this method. (Overrides MethodInfo.GetGenericMethodDefinition().)
Public method GetHashCode Gets the hash code for this method. (Overrides MethodInfo.GetHashCode().)
Public method GetILGenerator() Returns an ILGenerator for this method with a default Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) stream size of 64 bytes.
Public method GetILGenerator(Int32) Returns an ILGenerator for this method with the specified Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) stream size.
Public method GetMethodBody When overridden in a derived class, gets a MethodBody object that provides access to the MSIL stream, local variables, and exceptions for the current method. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public method GetMethodImplementationFlags Returns the implementation flags for the method. (Overrides MethodBase.GetMethodImplementationFlags().)
Public method GetModule Returns a reference to the module that contains this method.
Public method GetParameters Returns the parameters of this method. (Overrides MethodBase.GetParameters().)
Public method GetToken Returns the MethodToken that represents the token for this method.
Public method GetType Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method Invoke(Object, Object[]) Invokes the method or constructor represented by the current instance, using the specified parameters. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public method Invoke(Object, BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo) Dynamically invokes the method reflected by this instance on the given object, passing along the specified parameters, and under the constraints of the given binder. (Overrides MethodBase.Invoke(Object, BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo).)
Public method IsDefined Checks if the specified custom attribute type is defined. (Overrides MemberInfo.IsDefined(Type, Boolean).)
Public method MakeGenericMethod Returns a generic method constructed from the current generic method definition using the specified generic type arguments. (Overrides MethodInfo.MakeGenericMethod(Type[]).)
Protected method MemberwiseClone Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method SetCustomAttribute(CustomAttributeBuilder) Sets a custom attribute using a custom attribute builder.
Public method SetCustomAttribute(ConstructorInfo, Byte[]) Sets a custom attribute using a specified custom attribute blob.
Public method SetImplementationFlags Sets the implementation flags for this method.
Public method SetMarshal Obsolete. Sets marshaling information for the return type of this method.
Public method SetParameters Sets the number and types of parameters for a method.
Public method SetReturnType Sets the return type of the method.
Public method SetSignature Sets the method signature, including the return type, the parameter types, and the required and optional custom modifiers of the return type and parameter types.
Public method SetSymCustomAttribute Set a symbolic custom attribute using a blob.
Public method ToString Returns this MethodBuilder instance as a string. (Overrides Object.ToString().)
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  Name Description
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MemberInfo.GetIDsOfNames Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MemberInfo.GetType Gets a Type object representing the MemberInfo class. (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MemberInfo.GetTypeInfo Retrieves the type information for an object, which can then be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MemberInfo.GetTypeInfoCount Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MemberInfo.Invoke Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from MemberInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBase.GetIDsOfNames Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBase.GetType For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.GetType. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBase.GetTypeInfo Retrieves the type information for an object, which can then be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBase.GetTypeInfoCount Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBase.Invoke Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsAbstract For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsAbstract. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsAssembly For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsAssembly. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsConstructor For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsConstructor. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsFamily For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsFamily. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsFamilyAndAssembly For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsFamilyAndAssembly. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsFamilyOrAssembly For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsFamilyOrAssembly. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsFinal For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsFinal. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsHideBySig For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsHideBySig. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsPrivate For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsPrivate. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsPublic For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsPublic. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsSpecialName For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsSpecialName. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsStatic For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsStatic. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private property _MethodBase.IsVirtual For a description of this member, see _MethodBase.IsVirtual. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBuilder.GetIDsOfNames Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers.
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBuilder.GetTypeInfo Retrieves the type information for an object, which can then be used to get the type information for an interface.
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBuilder.GetTypeInfoCount Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1).
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodBuilder.Invoke Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object.
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodInfo.GetIDsOfNames Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from MethodInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodInfo.GetType Provides access to the GetType method from COM. (Inherited from MethodInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodInfo.GetTypeInfo Retrieves the type information for an object, which can be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from MethodInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodInfo.GetTypeInfoCount Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from MethodInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _MethodInfo.Invoke Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from MethodInfo.)
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MethodBuilder is used to fully describe a method in Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL), including the name, attributes, signature, and method body. It is used in conjunction with the TypeBuilder class to create classes at runtime.

Note Note

The HostProtectionAttribute attribute applied to this type or member has the following Resources property value: MayLeakOnAbort. The HostProtectionAttribute does not affect desktop applications (which are typically started by double-clicking an icon, typing a command, or entering a URL in a browser). For more information, see the HostProtectionAttribute class or SQL Server Programming and Host Protection Attributes.

An example using the MethodBuilder class to create a method within a dynamic type is provided below.



using System;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Reflection.Emit;

class DemoMethodBuilder 
{
    public static void AddMethodDynamically (TypeBuilder myTypeBld,
                                             string mthdName,
                                             Type[] mthdParams, 
                                             Type returnType,
                                             string mthdAction) 
    {

        MethodBuilder myMthdBld = myTypeBld.DefineMethod(
                                             mthdName,
                                             MethodAttributes.Public |
                                             MethodAttributes.Static,
                                             returnType,
                                             mthdParams);        

        ILGenerator ILout = myMthdBld.GetILGenerator();

        int numParams = mthdParams.Length;

        for (byte x=0; x < numParams; x++) 
        {
            ILout.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_S, x);
        }

        if (numParams > 1) 
        {
            for (int y=0; y<(numParams-1); y++) 
            {
                switch (mthdAction) 
                {
                    case "A": ILout.Emit(OpCodes.Add);
                              break;
                    case "M": ILout.Emit(OpCodes.Mul);
                              break;
                    default: ILout.Emit(OpCodes.Add);
                              break;
                }
            }
        }
        ILout.Emit(OpCodes.Ret);
    }

    public static void Main()
    {
        AppDomain myDomain = AppDomain.CurrentDomain;
        AssemblyName asmName = new AssemblyName();
        asmName.Name = "MyDynamicAsm";

        AssemblyBuilder myAsmBuilder = myDomain.DefineDynamicAssembly(
                                       asmName, 
                                       AssemblyBuilderAccess.RunAndSave);

        ModuleBuilder myModule = myAsmBuilder.DefineDynamicModule("MyDynamicAsm",
                                                                  "MyDynamicAsm.dll");

        TypeBuilder myTypeBld = myModule.DefineType("MyDynamicType",
                                                    TypeAttributes.Public);           

        // Get info from the user to build the method dynamically.
        Console.WriteLine("Let's build a simple method dynamically!");
        Console.WriteLine("Please enter a few numbers, separated by spaces.");
        string inputNums = Console.ReadLine();
        Console.Write("Do you want to [A]dd (default) or [M]ultiply these numbers? ");
        string myMthdAction = Console.ReadLine().ToUpper();
        Console.Write("Lastly, what do you want to name your new dynamic method? ");
        string myMthdName = Console.ReadLine();

        // Process inputNums into an array and create a corresponding Type array 
        int index = 0;
        string[] inputNumsList = inputNums.Split();

        Type[] myMthdParams = new Type[inputNumsList.Length];
        object[] inputValsList = new object[inputNumsList.Length];


        foreach (string inputNum in inputNumsList) 
        {
            inputValsList[index] = (object)Convert.ToInt32(inputNum);
                myMthdParams[index] = typeof(int);
                index++;
        } 

        // Now, call the method building method with the parameters, passing the 
        // TypeBuilder by reference.
        AddMethodDynamically(myTypeBld,
                             myMthdName,
                             myMthdParams,
                             typeof(int),        
                             myMthdAction);

        Type myType = myTypeBld.CreateType();

        Console.WriteLine("---");
        Console.WriteLine("The result of {0} the inputted values is: {1}",
                          ((myMthdAction == "M") ? "multiplying" : "adding"),
                          myType.InvokeMember(myMthdName,
                          BindingFlags.InvokeMethod | BindingFlags.Public |
                          BindingFlags.Static,
                          null,
                          null,
                          inputValsList));
        Console.WriteLine("---");

        // Let's take a look at the method we created.
        // If you are interested in seeing the MSIL generated dynamically for the method
        // your program generated, change to the directory where you ran the compiled
        // code sample and type "ildasm MyDynamicAsm.dll" at the prompt. When the list
        // of manifest contents appears, click on "MyDynamicType" and then on the name of
        // of the method you provided during execution.

        myAsmBuilder.Save("MyDynamicAsm.dll");

        MethodInfo myMthdInfo = myType.GetMethod(myMthdName);
        Console.WriteLine("Your Dynamic Method: {0};", myMthdInfo.ToString());    
    }
}


.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
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