Common Language Specification

The Common Language Specification (CLS ) is a part of the Common Language Infrastructure standards, allowing the development of programming language- neutral program components. The CLS ensures that each program or any program component ( eg, a single class), CLS - compliant has been developed to fully utilize it in any other CLS-compliant programming language.

Concept of the Common Language Specification

As part of the programming language- neutral platform of a Common Language Infrastructure implementation ( eg. NET from Microsoft), it is necessary to regulate the interaction between different programming languages. Since not every programming language provides the same functionality, a cross-language programming is not automatically possible. The CLS specifies that reason a subset of the CLI standard that must be understood by any CLS-compliant programming language at least, to make language neutrality. The rules of the CLS always apply it only to public ( public or protected ) interfaces. In the internal realization of no restrictions by the CLS.

Implementation of the Common Language Specification

Most programming languages ​​from the. NET environment, allow the developer to choose whether he wants to develop its programs or program components CLS-compliant. In addition usually the metadata attribute [ CLSCompliant (true )] is used, which the compiler (eg C # or VB.NET) instructs to check at compile time whether the CLS was observed. This is not the case, a compiler error will be generated.

All parts of the class libraries. NET are CLS-compliant.

Examples

The following list contains some examples of non- CLS-compliant elements. While this may be part of the implementation, but should not be used as part of the public interfaces.

  • Unsigned data types such as uint, ulong.
  • Elements (classes, methods, fields, etc. ), which differ only by a different capital letters of their name.
  • Pointers (pointers ), and all other, in related constructs and language elements ( in the context of. NET called "unsafe ").
  • Global static methods
  • Interfaces with static methods or fields
  • Classes that do not inherit from CLS-compliant classes
  • Arrays of variable size or arrays that do not start at element 0
  • Overloading of fields and events
.NET Framework C Sharp (programming language) Visual Basic .NET
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