Windows apps
Collapse the table of content
Expand the table of content
Information
The topic you requested is included in another documentation set. For convenience, it's displayed below. Choose Switch to see the topic in its original location.

MulticastDelegate Class

Represents a multicast delegate; that is, a delegate that can have more than one element in its invocation list.

Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

'Declaration
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public MustInherit Class MulticastDelegate
	Inherits Delegate
'Usage
Dim instance As MulticastDelegate

/** @attribute SerializableAttribute() */ 
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */ 
public abstract class MulticastDelegate extends Delegate
SerializableAttribute 
ComVisibleAttribute(true) 
public abstract class MulticastDelegate extends Delegate
Not applicable.

MulticastDelegate is a special class. Compilers and other tools can derive from this class, but you cannot derive from it explicitly. The same is true of the Delegate class.

A MulticastDelegate has a linked list of delegates, called an invocation list, consisting of one or more elements. When a multicast delegate is invoked, the delegates in the invocation list are called synchronously in the order in which they appear. If an error occurs during execution of the list then an exception is thrown.

The following example demonstrates the use of a class that is derived from MulticastDelegate.

Imports System
Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic

' This class contains strings. It has a member method that
' accepts a multicast delegate as a parameter and calls it

Class HoldsStrings

    ' The following line causes the compiler to generate
    ' a new delegate class named CheckAndPrintDelegate that
    ' inherits from System.MulticastDelegate.
    Delegate Sub CheckAndPrintDelegate(ByVal str As String)

    ' An ArrayList that holds strings
    Private myStringArray As New System.Collections.ArrayList()

    Public Sub addstring(ByVal str As String)
        myStringArray.Add(str)
    End Sub 'addstring

    ' Iterate through the strings and invoke the method(s) that the delegate points to
    Public Sub PrintAllQualified(ByVal myDelegate As CheckAndPrintDelegate)
        Dim str As String
        For Each str In myStringArray
            myDelegate(str)
        Next str
    End Sub 'PrintAllQualified

End Class     'end of class HoldsStrings

' This class contains a few sample methods
Class StringFuncs
    ' This method prints a string that it is passed if the string starts with a vowel
    Public Shared Sub ConStart(ByVal str As String)
        If Not (str.Chars(0) = "a"c Or str.Chars(0) = "e"c Or str.Chars(0) = "i"c Or str.Chars(0) = "o"c Or str.Chars(0) = "u"c) Then
            Console.WriteLine(str)
        End If
    End Sub 'ConStart

    ' This method prints a string that it is passed if the string starts with a consonant
    Public Shared Sub VowelStart(ByVal str As String)
        If (str.Chars(0) = "a"c Or str.Chars(0) = "e"c Or str.Chars(0) = "i"c Or str.Chars(0) = "o"c Or str.Chars(0) = "u"c) Then
            Console.WriteLine(str)
        End If
    End Sub 'VowelStart
End Class 'StringFuncs

' This class demonstrates using Delegates, including using the Remove and
' Combine methods to create and modify delegate combinations.
Class Test

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Declare the HoldsStrings class and add some strings
        Dim myHoldsStrings As New HoldsStrings()
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("this")
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("is")
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("a")
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("multicast")
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("delegate")
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("example")

        ' Create two delegates individually using different methods
        Dim ConStartDel = New HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate(AddressOf StringFuncs.ConStart)

        Dim VowStartDel As New HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate(AddressOf StringFuncs.VowelStart)

        ' Demonstrate that MulticastDelegates may store only one delegate
        Dim DelegateList() As [Delegate]

        ' Returns an array of all delegates stored in the linked list of the
        ' MulticastDelegate. In these cases the lists will hold only one (Multicast) delegate
        DelegateList = ConStartDel.GetInvocationList()
        Console.WriteLine("ConStartDel contains " + DelegateList.Length.ToString() + " delegate(s).")

        DelegateList = VowStartDel.GetInvocationList()
        Console.WriteLine(("ConStartVow contains " + DelegateList.Length.ToString() + " delegate(s)."))

        ' Determine whether the delegates are System.Multicast delegates
        If TypeOf ConStartDel Is System.MulticastDelegate And TypeOf VowStartDel Is System.MulticastDelegate Then
            Console.WriteLine("ConStartDel and ConStartVow are System.MulticastDelegates")
        End If

        ' Run the two single delegates one after the other
        Console.WriteLine("Running ConStartDel delegate:")
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(ConStartDel)
        Console.WriteLine("Running VowStartDel delegate:")
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(VowStartDel)

        ' Create a new, empty MulticastDelegate
        Dim MultiDel As HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate

        ' Delegate.Combine receives an unspecified number of MulticastDelegates as parameters
        MultiDel = CType([Delegate].Combine(ConStartDel, VowStartDel), HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate)

        ' How many delegates is this delegate holding?
        DelegateList = MultiDel.GetInvocationList()
        Console.WriteLine((ControlChars.Cr + "MulitDel contains " + DelegateList.Length.ToString() + " delegates."))

        ' What happens when this mulitcast delegate is passed to PrintAllQualified
        Console.WriteLine("Running the multiple delegate that combined the first two")
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(MultiDel)

        ' The Remove and Combine methods modify the multiple delegate
        MultiDel = CType([Delegate].Remove(MultiDel, VowStartDel), HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate)
        MultiDel = CType([Delegate].Combine(MultiDel, ConStartDel), HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate)

        ' Finally, pass the combined delegates to PrintAllQualified again
        Console.WriteLine(ControlChars.Cr + "Running the multiple delegate that contains two copies of ConStartDel:")
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(MultiDel)

        Return
    End Sub 'end of main
End Class 'end of Test


import System.*;

// This class contains strings. It has a member method that
// accepts a multicast delegate as a parameter and calls it.

class HoldsStrings
{
    /** @delegate
     */

    // This delegate is declared as a void, so the compiler automatically
    // generates a new class, named CheckAndPrintDelegate, that inherits from
    // System.MulticastDelegate.
    public delegate void CheckAndPrintDelegate(String str);

    // An ArrayList that holds strings
    private System.Collections.ArrayList myStringArray =
        new System.Collections.ArrayList();

    // A method that adds more strings to the Collection
    public void addstring(String str)
    {
        myStringArray.Add(str);
    } //addstring

    // Iterate through the strings and invoke the method(s) that the delegate
    // points to
    public void PrintAllQualified(CheckAndPrintDelegate myDelegate)
    {
        for (int iCtr1 = 0; iCtr1 < myStringArray.get_Count(); iCtr1++) {
            String str = System.Convert.ToString(myStringArray.get_Item(iCtr1));
            myDelegate.Invoke(str);
        }
    } //PrintAllQualified
} //HoldsStrings
//end of class HoldsStrings

// This class contains a few sample methods
class StringFuncs
{
    // This method prints a string that it is passed if the string starts 
    // with a vowel
    public static void ConStart(String str)
    {
        if (!(str.get_Chars(0) == 'a' || str.get_Chars(0) == 'e'
            || str.get_Chars(0) == 'i' || str.get_Chars(0) == 'o'
            || str.get_Chars(0) == 'u')) {
            Console.WriteLine(str);
        }
    } //ConStart

    // This method prints a string that it is passed if the string starts with
    // a consonant
    public static void VowelStart(String str)
    {
        if (str.get_Chars(0) == 'a' || str.get_Chars(0) == 'e'
            || str.get_Chars(0) == 'i' || str.get_Chars(0) == 'o'
            || str.get_Chars(0) == 'u') {
            Console.WriteLine(str);
        }
    } //VowelStart
} //StringFuncs

// This class demonstrates using Delegates, including using the Remove and
// Combine methods to create and modify delegate combinations.
class Test
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        // Declare the HoldsStrings class and add some strings
        HoldsStrings myHoldsStrings = new HoldsStrings();
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("This");
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("is");
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("a");
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("multicast");
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("delegate");
        myHoldsStrings.addstring("example");
        // Create two delegates individually using different methods
        HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate ConStartDel = 
            new HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate(StringFuncs.ConStart);
        HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate VowStartDel = 
            new HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate(StringFuncs.VowelStart);
        // Demonstrate that MulticastDelegates may store only one delegate
        Delegate DelegateList[];
        // Returns an array of all delegates stored in the linked list of the
        // MulticastDelegate. In these cases the lists will hold only one 
        // (Multicast) delegate
        DelegateList = ConStartDel.GetInvocationList();
        Console.WriteLine("ConStartDel contains " + DelegateList.get_Length() 
            + " delegate(s).");
        DelegateList = VowStartDel.GetInvocationList();
        Console.WriteLine("ConStartVow contains " + DelegateList.get_Length() 
            + " delegate(s).");
        // Determine whether the delegates are System.Multicast delegates
        // if (ConStartDel is System.MulticastDelegate && VowStartDel is 
        // System.MulticastDelegate) {
        Console.WriteLine("ConStartDel and ConStartVow are " 
            + "System.MulticastDelegates");
        // }
        // Run the two single delegates one after the other
        Console.WriteLine("Running ConStartDel delegate:");
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(ConStartDel);
        Console.WriteLine("Running VowStartDel delegate:");
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(VowStartDel);
        // Create a new, empty MulticastDelegate
        HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate multiDel;
        // Delegate.Combine receives an unspecified number of MulticastDelegates
        // as parameters
        multiDel = (HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate)(Delegate.Combine(
            ConStartDel, VowStartDel));
        // How many delegates is this delegate holding?
        DelegateList = multiDel.GetInvocationList();
        Console.WriteLine("\nMulitDel contains " + DelegateList.get_Length() 
            + " delegates.");
        // What happens when this mulitcast delegate is passed to 
        // PrintAllQualified
        Console.WriteLine("Running the multiple delegate that combined the "
            + "first two");
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(multiDel);
        // The Remove and Combine methods modify the multiple delegate
        multiDel = (HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate)(Delegate.Remove(
            multiDel, VowStartDel));
        multiDel = (HoldsStrings.CheckAndPrintDelegate)(Delegate.Combine(
            multiDel, ConStartDel));
        // Finally, pass the combined delegates to PrintAllQualified again
        Console.WriteLine("\nRunning the multiple delegate that contains two " 
            + "copies of ConStartDel:");
        myHoldsStrings.PrintAllQualified(multiDel);
        return;
    } //main 
} //Test 

System.Object
   System.Delegate
    System.MulticastDelegate
       Derived Classes

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows 98, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is supported on Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 1.0

Community Additions

Show:
© 2017 Microsoft