Activator.CreateInstance Method (Type)
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Creates an instance of the specified type by using that type's default constructor.
Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
'Declaration
Public Shared Function CreateInstance ( _
type As Type _
) As Object
public static Object CreateInstance(
Type type
)
Parameters
- type
Type: System.Type
The type of object to create.
Return Value
Type: System.Object
A reference to the newly created object.
Exceptions
| Exception | Condition |
|---|---|
| ArgumentNullException | type is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic). |
| ArgumentException | type is not a RuntimeType. -or- type is an open generic type (that is, the ContainsGenericParameters property returns true). |
| NotSupportedException | type is a TypeBuilder. -or- Creation of TypedReference, Void, and RuntimeArgumentHandle types, or arrays of those types, is not supported. |
| TargetInvocationException | The constructor being called throws an exception. |
| MethodAccessException | The caller does not have permission to call this constructor. |
| MemberAccessException | Cannot create an instance of an abstract class, or this member was invoked with a late-binding mechanism. |
| MissingMethodException | No matching public constructor was found. |
| COMException | type is a COM object but the class identifier used to obtain the type is invalid, or the identified class is not registered. |
| TypeLoadException | type is not a valid type. |
Remarks
The type and the constructor to be invoked must be accessible. For example, if you are using AssemblyBuilder to create a dynamic assembly, you can invoke an internal constructor (Friend constructor in Visual Basic) for a type defined within the dynamic assembly. However, if you are using DynamicMethod to create a dynamic method, you cannot invoke internal constructors, because the dynamic method is hosted in an anonymous module in a system-provided assembly.
Platform Notes
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Silverlight for Windows Phone
For types that do not have constructors defined, the CreateInstance method throws a MemberAccessException exception instead of a MissingMethodException exception.
Examples
The following code example demonstrates how to call the CreateInstance(Type) method. This code example is part of a larger example provided for the Activator class.
Dim sbType As Type = GetType(StringBuilder)
' Create an instance of the StringBuilder type using Activator.CreateInstance
' and the parameterless constructor.
Dim o As Object = Activator.CreateInstance(sbType)
' Append a string to the StringBuilder object and display the StringBuilder,
' late bound.
sbType.InvokeMember("Append", _
BindingFlags.Public Or BindingFlags.Instance Or BindingFlags.InvokeMethod, _
Type.DefaultBinder, _
o, New Object() { "Hello, there." })
outputBlock.Text &= o.ToString() & vbCrLf
Type sbType = typeof(StringBuilder);
// Create an instance of the StringBuilder type using Activator.CreateInstance
// and the parameterless constructor.
object o = Activator.CreateInstance(sbType);
// Append a string to the StringBuilder object and display the StringBuilder,
// late bound.
sbType.InvokeMember("Append",
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
Type.DefaultBinder,
o, new object[] {"Hello, there."});
outputBlock.Text += o.ToString() + "\n";
Version Information
Silverlight
Supported in: 5, 4, 3
Silverlight for Windows Phone
Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0
XNA Framework
Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0
Platforms
For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.