C# Intermediate Language Disassembler(ILDASM)

This is my first C# article. I searched the net to see what articles were available on C# and found that there were none for the IL disassember, a very useful tool for .NET programmers. Users will find it to be very important once they start using it.You can get IL disassemble tool as ILDasm.exe in directory C:\ProgramFiles\Microsoft.NET\FrameworkSDK\bin (Windows OS).

So what does this tool do?

The answer to this question is found in the tutorial supplied with .NET SDK as “The ILDSAM tool parses any .NET Framework EXE/DLL module and shows the information in a human-readable format. It allows user to see the pseudo assembly language for .NET”. IL disassmeber tool shows not only namespace but also types including their interfaces.As its name suggests, it is an intermediate language, so it has its own specification. Users can also write programs using this intermediate language, its very similar to assembly language of the old days.

I will use a simple example and use ILDASM.exe

 

//Hello World Program HelloWorld.cs
using System;

class HelloWorld
{
static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello, world!");
}
}

Complier it on command line by using csc HelloWorld.cs

Helloworld.exe file will be generated

Now use the command ildasm HelloWorld.exe

You will see a screen like this.

Here you can see all of the Symbols. The table below explains what each graphic symbol means.Some of them you can find in HelloWorld’s members.

The tree in this window shows that manifestinformation contained inside HelloWorld.exe. By double-clicking on anyof the types in the tree, you can see more information about the type.

Continues…