Special Edition Using C#

Producing Managed Code

Managed code provides information to the CLR. The CLR requires this information to perform a core set of services. These services include the following:

• Exception handling

• Storage and retrieval of security information

• Memory management

• Cross-language integration

• Code access security

• Automatic lifetime control of objects

What Is Metadata?

Traditionally, when programmers created reusable class libraries, they had to develop a different version for each programming language or compiler. There were a number of files that had to be additionally maintained apart from the .exe or .dll file. Some of these files were header files and IDL files.

There was a problem with this approach. Because the files had to be separately maintained, ...