.NET Common Language Runtime Unleashed

Summary

Event though you might never build a large-scale application using only IL, it is important that you are at least literate in IL and can read and understand most IL patterns. As you can see from this chapter, IL is relatively easy to understand. All IL code assumes a simple stack-based model of execution. After you understand that, the rest is just learning the syntax and calling conventions for each of the instructions. Most of the instructions have a one-to-one correspondence with C#; when they deviate, it is usually because that feature presents the user with unsafe or unverifiable code. This chapter presented most of the instructions that you are likely to run into.

Tip

You can find complete documentation on IL instructions in the ...