This topic has not yet been rated - Rate this topic

ConstructorBuilder Class

Defines and represents a constructor of a dynamic class.

System.Object
  System.Reflection.MemberInfo
    System.Reflection.MethodBase
      System.Reflection.ConstructorInfo
        System.Reflection.Emit.ConstructorBuilder

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

The ConstructorBuilder type exposes the following members.

  Name Description
Public property Attributes Retrieves the attributes for this constructor. (Overrides MethodBase.Attributes.)
Public property CallingConvention Gets a CallingConventions value that depends on whether the declaring type is generic. (Overrides MethodBase.CallingConvention.)
Public property ContainsGenericParameters Gets a value indicating whether the generic method contains unassigned generic type parameters. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property DeclaringType Retrieves a reference to the Type object for the type that declares this member. (Overrides MemberInfo.DeclaringType.)
Public property InitLocals Gets or sets whether the local variables in this constructor should be zero-initialized.
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 generic. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsGenericMethodDefinition Gets a value indicating whether the method is a generic method definition. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
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 Gets a value that indicates whether the current method or constructor is security-critical or security-safe-critical at the current trust level, and therefore can perform critical operations. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsSecuritySafeCritical Gets a value that indicates whether the current method or constructor is security-safe-critical at the current trust level; that is, whether it can perform critical operations and can be accessed by transparent code. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public property IsSecurityTransparent Gets a value that indicates whether the current method or constructor is transparent at the current trust level, and therefore cannot perform critical operations. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
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 constructor. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
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 dynamic module in which this constructor is defined. (Overrides MemberInfo.Module.)
Public property Name Retrieves the name of this constructor. (Overrides MemberInfo.Name.)
Public property ReflectedType Holds a reference to the Type object from which this object was obtained. (Overrides MemberInfo.ReflectedType.)
Public property ReturnType Obsolete. Gets null.
Public property Signature Retrieves the signature of the field in the form of a string.
Top
  Name Description
Public method AddDeclarativeSecurity Adds declarative security to this constructor.
Public method DefineParameter Defines a parameter of this constructor.
Public method Equals Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
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 GetCustomAttributes(Boolean) Returns all the custom attributes defined for this constructor. (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 Type objects that represent the type arguments of a generic method or the type parameters of a generic method definition. (Inherited from MethodBase.)
Public method GetHashCode Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Public method GetILGenerator() Gets an ILGenerator for this constructor.
Public method GetILGenerator(Int32) Gets an ILGenerator object, with the specified MSIL stream size, that can be used to build a method body for this constructor.
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 method implementation flags for this constructor. (Overrides MethodBase.GetMethodImplementationFlags().)
Public method GetModule Returns a reference to the module that contains this constructor.
Public method GetParameters Returns the parameters of this constructor. (Overrides MethodBase.GetParameters().)
Public method GetToken Returns the MethodToken that represents the token for this constructor.
Public method GetType Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method Invoke(Object[]) Invokes the constructor reflected by the instance that has the specified parameters, providing default values for the parameters not commonly used. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
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(BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo) Invokes the constructor dynamically reflected by this instance on the given object, passing along the specified parameters, and under the constraints of the given binder. (Overrides ConstructorInfo.Invoke(BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo).)
Public method Invoke(Object, BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo) Dynamically invokes the constructor reflected by this instance with the specified arguments, under the constraints of the specified 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).)
Protected method MemberwiseClone Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method SetCustomAttribute(CustomAttributeBuilder) Set a custom attribute using a custom attribute builder.
Public method SetCustomAttribute(ConstructorInfo, Byte[]) Set a custom attribute using a specified custom attribute blob.
Public method SetImplementationFlags Sets the method implementation flags for this constructor.
Public method SetSymCustomAttribute Sets this constructor's custom attribute associated with symbolic information.
Public method ToString Returns this ConstructorBuilder instance as a String. (Overrides Object.ToString().)
Top
  Name Description
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorBuilder.GetIDsOfNames Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers.
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorBuilder.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 _ConstructorBuilder.GetTypeInfoCount Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1).
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorBuilder.Invoke Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object.
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.GetIDsOfNames Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.GetType Gets a Type object representing the ConstructorInfo type. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.GetTypeInfo Retrieves the type information for an object, which can then be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.GetTypeInfoCount Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.Invoke Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.Invoke_2 Provides COM objects with version-independent access to the MethodBase.Invoke(Object, BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo) method. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.Invoke_3 Provides COM objects with version-independent access to the MethodBase.Invoke(Object, Object[]) method. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.Invoke_4 Provides COM objects with version-independent access to the ConstructorInfo.Invoke(BindingFlags, Binder, Object[], CultureInfo) method. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
Explicit interface implemetation Private method _ConstructorInfo.Invoke_5 Provides COM objects with version-independent access to the ConstructorInfo.Invoke(Object[]) method. (Inherited from ConstructorInfo.)
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.)
Top

ConstructorBuilder is used to fully describe a constructor in Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL), including the name, attributes, signature, and constructor body. It is used in conjunction with the TypeBuilder class to create classes at run time. Call DefineConstructor to get an instance of ConstructorBuilder.

If you do not define a constructor for your dynamic type, a default constructor is provided automatically, and it calls the default constructor of the base class.

If you use ConstructorBuilder to define a constructor for your dynamic type, a default constructor is not provided. You have the following options for providing a default constructor in addition to the constructor you defined:

  • If you want a default constructor that simply calls the default constructor of the base class, you can use the TypeBuilder.DefineDefaultConstructor method to create one (and optionally restrict access to it). Do not provide an implementation for this default constructor. If you do, an exception is thrown when you try to use the constructor. No exception is thrown when the TypeBuilder.CreateType method is called.

  • If you want a default constructor that does something more than simply calling the default constructor of the base class, or that calls another constructor of the base class, or that does something else entirely, you must use the TypeBuilder.DefineConstructor method to create a ConstructorBuilder, and provide your own implementation.

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.

The following code sample illustrates the contextual usage of a ConstructorBuilder.



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

class TestCtorBuilder {

  	public static Type DynamicPointTypeGen() {
	  
	   Type pointType = null;
	   Type[] ctorParams = new Type[] {typeof(int),
					    typeof(int),
					    typeof(int)};
 	
	   AppDomain myDomain = Thread.GetDomain();
	   AssemblyName myAsmName = new AssemblyName();
	   myAsmName.Name = "MyDynamicAssembly";
	
	   AssemblyBuilder myAsmBuilder = myDomain.DefineDynamicAssembly(
					  myAsmName, 
					  AssemblyBuilderAccess.RunAndSave);

   	   ModuleBuilder pointModule = myAsmBuilder.DefineDynamicModule("PointModule",
									"Point.dll");

	   TypeBuilder pointTypeBld = pointModule.DefineType("Point",
						              TypeAttributes.Public);

	   FieldBuilder xField = pointTypeBld.DefineField("x", typeof(int),
                                                          FieldAttributes.Public);
	   FieldBuilder yField = pointTypeBld.DefineField("y", typeof(int), 
                                                          FieldAttributes.Public);
	   FieldBuilder zField = pointTypeBld.DefineField("z", typeof(int),
                                                          FieldAttributes.Public);


           Type objType = Type.GetType("System.Object"); 
           ConstructorInfo objCtor = objType.GetConstructor(new Type[0]);

	   ConstructorBuilder pointCtor = pointTypeBld.DefineConstructor(
					  MethodAttributes.Public,
					  CallingConventions.Standard,
					  ctorParams);
	   ILGenerator ctorIL = pointCtor.GetILGenerator();

	   // NOTE: ldarg.0 holds the "this" reference - ldarg.1, ldarg.2, and ldarg.3
	   // hold the actual passed parameters. ldarg.0 is used by instance methods
	   // to hold a reference to the current calling object instance. Static methods
	   // do not use arg.0, since they are not instantiated and hence no reference
	   // is needed to distinguish them. 

           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);

	   // Here, we wish to create an instance of System.Object by invoking its
  	   // constructor, as specified above.

           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Call, objCtor);

	   // Now, we'll load the current instance ref in arg 0, along
	   // with the value of parameter "x" stored in arg 1, into stfld.

           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);
           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_1);
           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Stfld, xField); 

	   // Now, we store arg 2 "y" in the current instance with stfld.

           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);
           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_2);
           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Stfld, yField); 

	   // Last of all, arg 3 "z" gets stored in the current instance.

           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);
           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_3);
           ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Stfld, zField); 

           // Our work complete, we return.

	   ctorIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ret); 

	   // Now, let's create three very simple methods so we can see our fields.

	   string[] mthdNames = new string[] {"GetX", "GetY", "GetZ"}; 

           foreach (string mthdName in mthdNames) {
              MethodBuilder getFieldMthd = pointTypeBld.DefineMethod(
				           mthdName, 
				           MethodAttributes.Public,
                                           typeof(int), 
                                           null);
	      ILGenerator mthdIL = getFieldMthd.GetILGenerator();
	   
	      mthdIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);
  	      switch (mthdName) {
	         case "GetX": mthdIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldfld, xField);
			      break;
	         case "GetY": mthdIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldfld, yField);
			      break;
	         case "GetZ": mthdIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldfld, zField);
			      break;

	      }
	      mthdIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ret);

           }
	   // Finally, we create the type.

 	   pointType = pointTypeBld.CreateType();

	   // Let's save it, just for posterity.
	   
	   myAsmBuilder.Save("Point.dll");
	
	   return pointType;

 	}

	public static void Main() {
	
	   Type myDynamicType = null;
           object aPoint = null;
	   Type[] aPtypes = new Type[] {typeof(int), typeof(int), typeof(int)};
           object[] aPargs = new object[] {4, 5, 6};
	
	   // Call the  method to build our dynamic class.

	   myDynamicType = DynamicPointTypeGen();

	   Console.WriteLine("Some information about my new Type '{0}':",
			      myDynamicType.FullName);
	   Console.WriteLine("Assembly: '{0}'", myDynamicType.Assembly);
	   Console.WriteLine("Attributes: '{0}'", myDynamicType.Attributes);
	   Console.WriteLine("Module: '{0}'", myDynamicType.Module);
	   Console.WriteLine("Members: "); 
	   foreach (MemberInfo member in myDynamicType.GetMembers()) {
		Console.WriteLine("-- {0} {1};", member.MemberType, member.Name);
	   }

           Console.WriteLine("---");

	   // Let's take a look at the constructor we created.

	   ConstructorInfo myDTctor = myDynamicType.GetConstructor(aPtypes);
           Console.WriteLine("Constructor: {0};", myDTctor.ToString());

           Console.WriteLine("---");
	  
           // Now, we get to use our dynamically-created class by invoking the constructor. 

	   aPoint = myDTctor.Invoke(aPargs);
           Console.WriteLine("aPoint is type {0}.", aPoint.GetType());
	   	   

	   // Finally, let's reflect on the instance of our new type - aPoint - and
	   // make sure everything proceeded according to plan.

	   Console.WriteLine("aPoint.x = {0}",
			     myDynamicType.InvokeMember("GetX",
						        BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
							null,
							aPoint,
							new object[0]));
	   Console.WriteLine("aPoint.y = {0}",
			     myDynamicType.InvokeMember("GetY",
						        BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
							null,
							aPoint,
							new object[0]));
	   Console.WriteLine("aPoint.z = {0}",
			     myDynamicType.InvokeMember("GetZ",
						        BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
							null,
							aPoint,
							new object[0]));

	    

	   // +++ OUTPUT +++
	   // Some information about my new Type 'Point':
	   // Assembly: 'MyDynamicAssembly, Version=0.0.0.0'
	   // Attributes: 'AutoLayout, AnsiClass, NotPublic, Public'
	   // Module: 'PointModule'
	   // Members: 
	   // -- Field x;
	   // -- Field y;
	   // -- Field z;
           // -- Method GetHashCode;
           // -- Method Equals;
           // -- Method ToString;
           // -- Method GetType;
           // -- Constructor .ctor;
	   // ---
	   // Constructor: Void .ctor(Int32, Int32, Int32);
	   // ---
	   // aPoint is type Point.
	   // aPoint.x = 4
	   // aPoint.y = 5
	   // aPoint.z = 6
	    
	}

}



.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.
Did you find this helpful?
(1500 characters remaining)
Community Content Add
Annotations FAQ