For the most part, .NET developers use a high-level language, such as C# or VB .NET, to develop their systems. However, the core language of .NET is the Common Intermediate Language, or CIL. This language is the language of .NET-developers can use CIL to do whatever is allowed by the .NET specifications, which is not the case for C# and VB .NET. Although it is unlikely that the majority of .NET developers will create their assemblies in CIL, understanding how CIL works will give them a deep, language-independent insight into the core parts of .NET. Furthermore, such knowledge is essential for creating dynamic types, a powerful part of the .NET Framework.

In "CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET", Jason Bock covers the essentials of programming the CIL. First, Bock discusses the basics of what .NET assemblies are and how manifests fit into the picture. He then shows how to create assemblies in .NET-including the ilasm directives and CIL opcodes, and how these are used to define assemblies, classes, field, methods, and method definitions. Bock also covers how C# and VB .NET and other non-MS languages emit CIL and how they differ. Finally, he reveals how developers can create dynamic assemblies at runtime via the Emitter classes.

After reading "CIL Programming: Under the Hood of .NET", developers will have a better understanding of the CIL and how to program directly into it. A must-have on every .NET developer's desk!

• 1. Language Interoperability.
• 2. ilasm Directives.
• 3. CIL Opcodes.
• 4. ilasm and CIL in Practice.
• 5. Debugging CIL.
• 6. .NET Languages and CIL.
• 7. Creating Dynamic Types.
• 8. Dynamic Proxies in .NET.
• 9. Conclusions.
• Appendix: The Future of CIL.