Datasheet

The CTS doesn’t specify merely primitive data types but a rich hierarchy of types, which includes well-
defined points in the hierarchy at which code is permitted to define its own types. The hierarchical struc-
ture of the CTS reflects the single-inheritance object-oriented methodology of IL, and resembles Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1
The following table explains the types shown in Figure 1-1.
Continued
Type Meaning
Type
Base class that represents any type.
Value Type
Base class that represents any value type.
Reference Types
Any data types that are accessed through a reference and stored on
the heap.
Built-in Value Types
Includes most of the standard primitive types, which represent
numbers, Boolean values, or characters.
Enumerations
Sets of enumerated values.
User-defined Value
Types
Types that have been defined in source code and are stored as value
types. In C# terms, this means any struct.
Built in Value
Types
User-defined
Value Types
Value Type
Pointer Types
Type
Reference
Type
Enumerations
Interface Types
Self-describing
Types
Arrays
Class Types
User-defined
Reference
Types
Delegates
Boxed Value
Types
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Chapter 1: .NET Architecture
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