SharpMeta

An opiniated library for inspecting .NET assembly Metadata

SharpMeta

SharpMeta is a .NET library that facilitates the loading and inspection of .NET assemblies using the System.Reflection.MetadataLoadContext. This library provides a robust and flexible way to load assemblies from specified file paths and directories, while also providing extension methods for inspecting type and attribute metadata.

Using SharpAssemblyResolver.Builder.AddReferenceDirectories("path/to/target-framework"), SharpMeta can load and inspect .NET assemblies compiled for any target framework -- including .NET and .NET Framework.

Features

• Load assemblies from specified file paths.
• Recursively search directories for assemblies.
• Log errors and information during the loading process.
• Utilize MetadataLoadContext for inspecting assemblies without loading them into the main application domain.
• Extension methods for Type, PropertyInfo, MemberInfo, and CustomAttributeData to facilitate inspecting type and attribute metadata.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK

Installation

To use SharpMeta in your project, add the following package reference to your .csproj file:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="SharpMeta" />
</ItemGroup>

Usage

Below is an example of how to use the SharpAssemblyResolver class provided by SharpMeta:

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Reflection;
using SharpMeta;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var referenceFiles = new FileInfo[]
        {
            new FileInfo("path/to/your/assembly1.dll"),
            new FileInfo("path/to/your/assembly2.dll")
        };

        var referenceDirectories = new DirectoryInfo[]
        {
            new DirectoryInfo("path/to/your/reference/directory")
        };

        using var context = SharpAssemblyResolver.CreateBuilder()
            .AddReferenceFiles(referenceFiles)
            .AddReferenceDirectories(referenceDirectories)
            .ToAssemblyResolver()
            .ToMetadataLoadContext();

        var assembly = context.LoadFromAssemblyPath("path/to/your/target/assembly.dll");
        Console.WriteLine($"Loaded Assembly: {assembly.FullName}");

        // Example usage of extension methods
        foreach (var type in assembly.GetTypes())
        {
            if (type.ImplementsAnyInterface(("System.Collections", "IEnumerable")))
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"{type.FullName} implements IEnumerable");
            }

            if (type.IsProbableDictionary(out var keyType, out var valueType))
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"{type.FullName} is a probable dictionary with key type {keyType} and value type {valueType}");
            }

            foreach (var property in type.GetProperties())
            {
                if (property.IsNullable())
                {
                    Console.WriteLine($"{property.Name} is nullable");
                }
            }

            foreach (var member in type.GetMembers())
            {
                if (member.TryGetCustomAttributeData<ObsoleteAttribute>(out var attributeData))
                {
                    Console.WriteLine($"{member.Name} has ObsoleteAttribute with message: {attributeData.GetNamedArgument<string>("Message")}");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

API Reference

SharpAssemblyResolver

• Methods
  • public static Builder CreateBuilder(SharpResolverLogger? logger = null): Creates a new Builder instance.
  • public static MetadataLoadContext CreateExecutingAssemblyLoadContext(): Creates a MetadataLoadContext for the executing assembly.
  • public static implicit operator SharpAssemblyResolver(Builder builder): Implicitly converts a Builder to a SharpAssemblyResolver.
  • public static implicit operator MetadataLoadContext(SharpAssemblyResolver resolver): Implicitly converts a SharpAssemblyResolver to a MetadataLoadContext.
  • public MetadataLoadContext ToMetadataLoadContext(): Converts the resolver to a MetadataLoadContext.

SharpAssemblyResolver.Builder

• Constructor

internal Builder(SharpResolverLogger? logger = null)

• logger: The logger to use for load context events.

• Methods

  • public SharpAssemblyResolver ToAssemblyResolver(): Converts the builder to a SharpAssemblyResolver.
  • public Builder AddReferenceDirectory(DirectoryInfo directory, EnumerationOptions? options = null): Adds a reference directory to the builder.
  • public Builder AddReferenceDirectories(EnumerationOptions options, params DirectoryInfo[] directories): Adds multiple reference directories to the builder.
  • public Builder AddReferenceFile(FileInfo file, bool includeSideBySideAssemblies = false): Adds a reference file to the builder.
  • public Builder AddReferenceFiles(params FileInfo[] files): Adds multiple reference files to the builder.
  • public Builder AddExecutingAssembly(bool includeSideBySideAssemblies = false, int sideBySideRecursionDepth = 1): Adds the executing assembly to the builder.
  • public Builder AddRuntimeEnvironmentAssemblies(): Adds the runtime assemblies of the executing application to the builder.

Extension Methods

TypeExtensions

• ImplementsAnyInterface

public static bool ImplementsAnyInterface(this Type type, params (string? Namespace, string Name)[] interfaceNames)

Determines whether the specified Type implements any of the specified interface names.

• TryUnwrapNullable

public static bool TryUnwrapNullable(this Type type, [NotNullWhen(true)] out Type? underlyingType)

Tries to unwrap a nullable type and get its underlying type.

• IsProbableDictionary

public static bool IsProbableDictionary(this Type type, [NotNullWhen(true)] out Type? keyType, [NotNullWhen(true)] out Type? valueType)

Determines whether the specified Type is a probable dictionary.

PropertyInfoExtensions

• IsNullable

public static bool IsNullable(this PropertyInfo property)

Determines whether the specified property is nullable.

• IsNullableReference

public static bool IsNullableReference(this PropertyInfo property)

Determines whether the specified property is a nullable reference type.

MemberInfoExtensions

• TryGetCustomAttributeData<T>

public static bool TryGetCustomAttributeData<T>(this IList<CustomAttributeData>? attributeDatas, [NotNullWhen(true)] out CustomAttributeData? attributeData)
    where T : Attribute

Tries to get the CustomAttributeData from the attribute data collection and attribute type.

• TryGetCustomAttributeData<T>

public static bool TryGetCustomAttributeData<T>(this MemberInfo memberInfo, [NotNullWhen(true)] out CustomAttributeData? attributeData)
    where T : Attribute

Tries to get the CustomAttributeData for the specified MemberInfo and attribute type.

• TryGetCustomAttributeData

public static bool TryGetCustomAttributeData(this MemberInfo memberInfo, Type attributeType, [NotNullWhen(true)] out CustomAttributeData? attributeData)

Tries to get the CustomAttributeData for the specified MemberInfo and attribute type.

• TryGetCustomAttributeData

public static bool TryGetCustomAttributeData(this MemberInfo memberInfo, string attributeFullName, [NotNullWhen(true)] out CustomAttributeData? attributeData)

Tries to get the CustomAttributeData for the specified Type and attribute type.

CustomAttributeDataExtensions

• GetNamedArgument<T>

public static T? GetNamedArgument<T>(this CustomAttributeData customAttributeData, string name)

Retrieves the value of a named argument from the specified CustomAttributeData instance.

• TryGetNamedArgument<T>

public static bool TryGetNamedArgument<T>(this CustomAttributeData customAttributeData, string name, [NotNullWhen(true)] out T? value)

Tries to retrieve the value of a named argument from the specified CustomAttributeData instance.

• GetConstructorArgument<T>

public static T? GetConstructorArgument<T>(this CustomAttributeData customAttributeData, int index)

Retrieves the value of a constructor argument from the specified CustomAttributeData instance.

• TryGetConstructorArgument<T>

public static bool TryGetConstructorArgument<T>(this CustomAttributeData customAttributeData, int index, [NotNullWhen(true)] out T? value)

Tries to retrieve the value of a constructor argument from the specified CustomAttributeData instance.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a pull request or open an issue to discuss any changes. See CONTRIBUTING.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• System.Reflection.MetadataLoadContext
• Nerdbank.GitVersioning