Editing Common Intermediate Language (section)

===Metadata===
{{Main|Metadata (CLI)}}

The [[Common Language Infrastructure]] (CLI) records information about compiled classes as [[metadata]]. Like the type library in the [[Component Object Model]], this enables applications to support and discover the interfaces, classes, types, methods, and fields in the assembly. The process of reading such metadata is called "[[Reflection (computer science)|reflection]]".

Metadata can be data in the form of "attributes". Attributes can be customized by extending the <code>Attribute</code> class. This is a powerful feature. It allows the creator of the class the ability to adorn it with extra information that consumers of the class can use in various meaningful ways, depending on the application domain.