Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Compiling to the Common Intermediate Language
(CIL)
The compiler for a .NET language takes a source code file and produces an output file called an
assembly
. In non-.NET terms, an assembly is either an executable or a DLL. The process is illus-
trated in Figure 1-3.
The code in the assembly is not native machine code, but an intermediate language
called the
Common Intermediate Language
(
CIL)
.
Among other things, the assembly contains the following:
-The program's CIL
-
Metadata about the types used in the program
-
Metadata about references to other assemblies
Figure 1-3.
The compilation process
The acronym for the intermediate language has changed over time. Other terms for the
CIL that you might encounter are IL (Intermediate Language), and MSIL (Microsoft Intermedi-
ate Language), which was used during initial development and early documentation.
