Assembly.GetTypes Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Reflection

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

Assembly.cs

Gets all types defined in this assembly.

public:
 virtual cli::array <Type ^> ^ GetTypes();

public virtual Type[] GetTypes ();

abstract member GetTypes : unit -> Type[]
override this.GetTypes : unit -> Type[]

Public Overridable Function GetTypes () As Type()

Returns

Type[]

An array that contains all the types that are defined in this assembly.

Exceptions

ReflectionTypeLoadException

The assembly contains one or more types that cannot be loaded. The array returned by the Types property of this exception contains a Type object for each type that was loaded and null for each type that could not be loaded, while the LoaderExceptions property contains an exception for each type that could not be loaded.

Examples

The following example displays parameters of one method on a type in the specified assembly.

Assembly^ SampleAssembly;
SampleAssembly = Assembly::LoadFrom( "c:\\Sample.Assembly.dll" );
// Obtain a reference to a method known to exist in assembly.
MethodInfo^ Method = SampleAssembly->GetTypes()[ 0 ]->GetMethod( "Method1" );
// Obtain a reference to the parameters collection of the MethodInfo instance.
array<ParameterInfo^>^ Params = Method->GetParameters();
// Display information about method parameters.
// Param = sParam1
//   Type = System::String
//   Position = 0
//   Optional=False
for each ( ParameterInfo^ Param in Params )
{
   Console::WriteLine( "Param= {0}", Param->Name );
   Console::WriteLine( "  Type= {0}", Param->ParameterType );
   Console::WriteLine( "  Position= {0}", Param->Position );
   Console::WriteLine( "  Optional= {0}", Param->IsOptional );
}

Assembly SampleAssembly;
SampleAssembly = Assembly.LoadFrom("c:\\Sample.Assembly.dll");
// Obtain a reference to a method known to exist in assembly.
MethodInfo Method = SampleAssembly.GetTypes()[0].GetMethod("Method1");
// Obtain a reference to the parameters collection of the MethodInfo instance.
ParameterInfo[] Params = Method.GetParameters();
// Display information about method parameters.
// Param = sParam1
//   Type = System.String
//   Position = 0
//   Optional=False
foreach (ParameterInfo Param in Params)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Param=" + Param.Name.ToString());
    Console.WriteLine("  Type=" + Param.ParameterType.ToString());
    Console.WriteLine("  Position=" + Param.Position.ToString());
    Console.WriteLine("  Optional=" + Param.IsOptional.ToString());
}

Dim SampleAssembly As [Assembly]
SampleAssembly = [Assembly].LoadFrom("c:\Sample.Assembly.dll")
' Obtain a reference to a method known to exist in assembly.
Dim Method As MethodInfo = SampleAssembly.GetTypes()(0).GetMethod("Method1")
' Obtain a reference to the parameters collection of the MethodInfo instance.
Dim Params As ParameterInfo() = Method.GetParameters()
' Display information about method parameters.
' Param = sParam1
'   Type = System.String
'   Position = 0
'   Optional=False
For Each Param As ParameterInfo In Params
    Console.WriteLine(("Param=" + Param.Name.ToString()))
    Console.WriteLine(("  Type=" + Param.ParameterType.ToString()))
    Console.WriteLine(("  Position=" + Param.Position.ToString()))
    Console.WriteLine(("  Optional=" + Param.IsOptional.ToString()))
Next

Remarks

The returned array includes nested and non-public types. To retrieve only public types, use the GetExportedTypes method.

If the GetTypes method is called on an assembly and a type in that assembly is dependent on a type in an assembly that has not been loaded (for example, if it derives from a type in the second assembly), a ReflectionTypeLoadException is thrown. For example, this can happen if the first assembly was loaded with the ReflectionOnlyLoad or ReflectionOnlyLoadFrom methods, and the second assembly was not loaded. It can also happen with assemblies loaded using the Load and LoadFile methods if the second assembly cannot be located when the GetTypes method is called.

Note

If a type has been forwarded to another assembly, it is not included in the returned array. For information on type forwarding, see Type Forwarding in the Common Language Runtime.

To retrieve a collection of TypeInfo objects instead of an array of Type objects, use the Assembly.DefinedTypes property.