Type::GetGenericTypeDefinition Method
Returns a Type object that represents a generic type definition from which the current generic type can be constructed.
Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Return Value
Type: System::TypeA Type object representing a generic type from which the current type can be constructed.
| Exception | Condition |
|---|---|
| InvalidOperationException | The current type is not a generic type. That is, IsGenericType returns false. |
| NotSupportedException | The invoked method is not supported in the base class. Derived classes must provide an implementation. |
A generic type definition is a template from which other types can be constructed. For example, from the generic type definition G<T> (expressed in C# syntax; G(Of T) in Visual Basic or generic <typename T> ref class G in C++) you can construct and instantiate the type G<int> (G(Of Integer) in Visual Basic). Given a Type object representing this constructed type, the GetGenericTypeDefinition method returns the generic type definition.
If two constructed types are created from the same generic type definition, using the same type arguments, the GetGenericTypeDefinition method returns the same Type object for both types.
If you call the GetGenericTypeDefinition method on a Type object that already represents a generic type definition, it returns the current Type.
Important Note: |
|---|
An array of generic types is not itself generic. In the C# code A<int>[] v; or the Visual Basic code Dim v() As A(Of Integer), the type of variable v is not generic. Use IsGenericType to determine whether a type is generic before calling GetGenericTypeDefinition. |
For a list of the invariant conditions for terms used in generic reflection, see the IsGenericType property remarks.
The following code example creates an instance of a constructed type by using ordinary instance creation and then uses the GetType and GetGenericTypeDefinition methods to retrieve the constructed type and the generic type definition. This example uses the generic Dictionary<TKey, TValue> type; the constructed type represents a Dictionary<TKey, TValue> of Test objects with string keys.
Note: |
|---|
To run this example, see Building Examples That Use a Demo Method and a TextBlock Control. |
For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.
Important Note: