TypeBuilder.MakePointerType Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Reflection.Emit

Assembly:

System.Reflection.Emit.dll

Source:

TypeBuilder.cs

Returns a Type object that represents the type of an unmanaged pointer to the current type.

public:
 override Type ^ MakePointerType();

public override Type MakePointerType ();

override this.MakePointerType : unit -> Type

Public Overrides Function MakePointerType () As Type

Returns

Type

A Type object that represents the type of an unmanaged pointer to the current type.

Examples

The following code example creates a dynamic module, an abstract type named Sample, and an abstract method named TestMethod. TestMethod takes a ref parameter (ByRef in Visual Basic) of type Sample, a pointer to type Sample, and an array of type Sample. It returns a two-dimensional array of type Sample. The code example saves the dynamic module to disk, so you can examine it with the Ildasm.exe (IL Disassembler).

using System;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Reflection.Emit;
using Microsoft.VisualBasic;

public class Example
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Define a dynamic assembly to contain the sample type. The
        // assembly will not be run, but only saved to disk, so
        // AssemblyBuilderAccess.Save is specified.
        //
        AppDomain myDomain = AppDomain.CurrentDomain;
        AssemblyName myAsmName = new AssemblyName("MakeXxxTypeExample");
        AssemblyBuilder myAssembly = myDomain.DefineDynamicAssembly(
            myAsmName,
            AssemblyBuilderAccess.Save);

        // An assembly is made up of executable modules. For a single-
        // module assembly, the module name and file name are the same
        // as the assembly name.
        //
        ModuleBuilder myModule = myAssembly.DefineDynamicModule(
            myAsmName.Name,
            myAsmName.Name + ".dll");

        // Define the sample type.
        TypeBuilder myType = myModule.DefineType(
            "Sample",
            TypeAttributes.Public | TypeAttributes.Abstract);

        // Define a method that takes a ref argument of type Sample,
        // a pointer to type Sample, and an array of Sample objects. The
        // method returns a two-dimensional array of Sample objects.
        //
        // To create this method, you need Type objects that represent the
        // parameter types and the return type. Use the MakeByRefType,
        // MakePointerType, and MakeArrayType methods to create the Type
        // objects.
        //
        Type byRefMyType = myType.MakeByRefType();
        Type pointerMyType = myType.MakePointerType();
        Type arrayMyType = myType.MakeArrayType();
        Type twoDimArrayMyType = myType.MakeArrayType(2);

        // Create the array of parameter types.
        Type[] parameterTypes = {byRefMyType, pointerMyType, arrayMyType};

        // Define the abstract Test method. After you have compiled
        // and run this code example code, you can use ildasm.exe
        // to open MakeXxxTypeExample.dll, examine the Sample type,
        // and verify the parameter types and return type of the
        // TestMethod method.
        //
        MethodBuilder myMethodBuilder = myType.DefineMethod(
            "TestMethod",
            MethodAttributes.Abstract | MethodAttributes.Virtual
                | MethodAttributes.Public,
            twoDimArrayMyType,
            parameterTypes);

        // Create the type and save the assembly. For a single-file
        // assembly, there is only one module to store the manifest
        // information in.
        //
        myType.CreateType();
        myAssembly.Save(myAsmName.Name + ".dll");
    }
}

Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.Reflection.Emit

Public Class Example
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Define a dynamic assembly to contain the sample type. The
        ' assembly will not be run, but only saved to disk, so
        ' AssemblyBuilderAccess.Save is specified.
        '
        Dim myDomain As AppDomain = AppDomain.CurrentDomain
        Dim myAsmName As New AssemblyName("MakeXxxTypeExample")
        Dim myAssembly As AssemblyBuilder = myDomain.DefineDynamicAssembly( _
            myAsmName, _
            AssemblyBuilderAccess.Save)

        ' An assembly is made up of executable modules. For a single-
        ' module assembly, the module name and file name are the same 
        ' as the assembly name. 
        '
        Dim myModule As ModuleBuilder = myAssembly.DefineDynamicModule( _
            myAsmName.Name, _
            myAsmName.Name & ".dll")

        ' Define the sample type.
        Dim myType As TypeBuilder = myModule.DefineType( _
            "Sample", _
            TypeAttributes.Public Or TypeAttributes.Abstract)

        ' Define a method that takes a ByRef argument of type Sample,
        ' a pointer to type Sample, and an array of Sample objects. The
        ' method returns a two-dimensional array of Sample objects.
        '
        ' To create this method, you need Type objects that represent the
        ' parameter types and the return type. Use the MakeByRefType, 
        ' MakePointerType, and MakeArrayType methods to create the Type
        ' objects.
        '
        Dim byRefMyType As Type = myType.MakeByRefType
        Dim pointerMyType As Type = myType.MakePointerType
        Dim arrayMyType As Type = myType.MakeArrayType
        Dim twoDimArrayMyType As Type = myType.MakeArrayType(2)

        ' Create the array of parameter types.
        Dim parameterTypes() As Type = _
            {byRefMyType, pointerMyType, arrayMyType}

        ' Define the abstract Test method. After you have compiled
        ' and run this code example code, you can use ildasm.exe 
        ' to open MakeXxxTypeExample.dll, examine the Sample type,
        ' and verify the parameter types and return type of the
        ' TestMethod method.
        '
        Dim myMethodBuilder As MethodBuilder = myType.DefineMethod( _
            "TestMethod", _
            MethodAttributes.Abstract Or MethodAttributes.Virtual _
                Or MethodAttributes.Public, _
            twoDimArrayMyType, _
            parameterTypes)

        ' Create the type and save the assembly. For a single-file 
        ' assembly, there is only one module to store the manifest 
        ' information in.
        '
        myType.CreateType()
        myAssembly.Save(myAsmName.Name & ".dll")

    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

The MakePointerType method provides a way to generate pointer types for parameter lists.

Note

Using Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) syntax, if the current TypeBuilder represents MyType, then the type returned by this method would be MyType*.

See also

• MakeByRefType()
• MakeArrayType