Understanding Common Type System in .Net FrameworkAs .Net Framework is language independent and support over 20 different programming languages, many programmers will write data types in their own programming language.
For example, an integer variable in C# is written as int, whereas in Visual Basic it is written as integer. Therefore in .Net Framework you have single class called System.Int32 to interpret these variables. Similarly, for ArrayList data type .Net Framework has a common type called System.Collections.ArrayList. In .Net Framework, System.Object is common base type from where all other types are derived.
This system is called Common Type System. The types in .NET Framework are base on which .NET applications, components, and controls are built. Common Type System in .Net Framework defines how data types are going to be declared and managed in runtime. The Common Type System performs following functions:
• Automatically adapts itself in a framework that enables integration of multiple languages, type safety, and high performance code execution. • Provides an object-oriented model. • Standardizes conventions that all languages must follow. • Invokes security checks. • Encapsulates data structures.