Question from a test

[Doru Roman]

Hello,

I got a test and some of the questions were:

A collection a files, which is the basic unit of .NET programming, is
called:
1. package
2. assembly
3. library
4. copybook

I chose 3.

Every attribute must have at least one of the following:
1. comment
2. constructor
3. virtual machine
4. database

I put the finger on 3, as I had no idea what else to choose.

I do not know exactly how they help a programmer but it is good to know the
right answer. Can anybody give a hint please?
Thank you!

[wfairl]

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...k_netstart.asp

[Mythran]

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

Hello,

I got a test and some of the questions were:

A collection a files, which is the basic unit of .NET programming, is
called:
1. package
2. assembly
3. library
4. copybook

I chose 3.

I would have to fight on either answer here. If someone answered #2, I
would have to say they are right as well as #3. An assembly is a file that
contains a compiled version of a collection of code files while a library
can be the same thing (DLL = Dynamic-Linked Library), or a collection of
assemblies (library of DLL's)...but i guess it depends on what the test is
for....Now, for the basic unit of .Net programming, an assembly would be my
guess of what the testers are looking for.
Every attribute must have at least one of the following:
1. comment
2. constructor
3. virtual machine
4. database
Attributes *must* have a constructor. If it does not, it can't be created,
therefore you can't place the attribute on any code type.
I put the finger on 3, as I had no idea what else to choose.

I do not know exactly how they help a programmer but it is good to know
the
right answer. Can anybody give a hint please?
Thank you!

Wonders if this is for a job position and I just gave you the answers to it
:P

HTH,
Mythran

[Doru Roman]

Now I understand what an attribute means. If I had known at the test time I
would have chosen
the right answer too.
If in C++ they were fields, now in C# they are attributes.
"Mythran" <ki********@hotmail.comREMOVETRAIL> wrote in message
news:OJ**************@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

Hello,

I got a test and some of the questions were:

A collection a files, which is the basic unit of .NET programming, is
called:
1. package
2. assembly
3. library
4. copybook

I chose 3.

I would have to fight on either answer here. If someone answered #2, I
would have to say they are right as well as #3. An assembly is a file
that contains a compiled version of a collection of code files while a
library can be the same thing (DLL = Dynamic-Linked Library), or a
collection of assemblies (library of DLL's)...but i guess it depends on
what the test is for....Now, for the basic unit of .Net programming, an
assembly would be my guess of what the testers are looking for.

Every attribute must have at least one of the following:
1. comment
2. constructor
3. virtual machine
4. database

Attributes *must* have a constructor. If it does not, it can't be
created, therefore you can't place the attribute on any code type.

I put the finger on 3, as I had no idea what else to choose.

I do not know exactly how they help a programmer but it is good to know
the
right answer. Can anybody give a hint please?
Thank you!

Wonders if this is for a job position and I just gave you the answers to
it :P

HTH,
Mythran

[Doru Roman]

Thanks Mythran
"Mythran" <ki********@hotmail.comREMOVETRAIL> wrote in message
news:OJ**************@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

Hello,

I got a test and some of the questions were:

A collection a files, which is the basic unit of .NET programming, is
called:
1. package
2. assembly
3. library
4. copybook

I chose 3.

I would have to fight on either answer here. If someone answered #2, I
would have to say they are right as well as #3. An assembly is a file
that contains a compiled version of a collection of code files while a
library can be the same thing (DLL = Dynamic-Linked Library), or a
collection of assemblies (library of DLL's)...but i guess it depends on
what the test is for....Now, for the basic unit of .Net programming, an
assembly would be my guess of what the testers are looking for.

Every attribute must have at least one of the following:
1. comment
2. constructor
3. virtual machine
4. database

Attributes *must* have a constructor. If it does not, it can't be
created, therefore you can't place the attribute on any code type.

I put the finger on 3, as I had no idea what else to choose.

I do not know exactly how they help a programmer but it is good to know
the
right answer. Can anybody give a hint please?
Thank you!

Wonders if this is for a job position and I just gave you the answers to
it :P

HTH,
Mythran

[Mythran]

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:eH**************@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

Now I understand what an attribute means. If I had known at the test time
I would have chosen
the right answer too.
If in C++ they were fields, now in C# they are attributes.

An attribute is not a field :)

An attribute is a class that you place on a class, method, or other member
that signifies to the framework (or custom code) to do something or another
(or just flags it as something important)...excerpt from the MSDN
documentation:

"The common language runtime allows you to add keyword-like descriptive
declarations, called attributes, to annotate programming elements such as
types, fields, methods, and properties. Attributes are saved with the
metadata of a Microsoft .NET Framework file and can be used to describe your
code to the runtime or to affect application behavior at run time. While the
..NET Framework supplies many useful attributes, you can also design and
deploy your own."

In C#, you apply attributes (such as the DescriptionAttribute) as follows:

[Description("This is a description for the following property.")]
public int MyInt
{
get {
return mMyInt;
}
}

There are also attributes in the AssemblyInfo file that affect the entire
assembly, such as AssemblyKeyName or AssemblyKeyFile. Others allow you to
document (in the metadata) the product name, version, description, copyright
information, and so on.

They don't just stop there. There are attributes that tell the framework
that you have to have a specific permission in order to create a class,
access a method / property, and so on. Attributes are powerful elements in
..Net that help you create assemblies for your clients/customers.

HTH,
Mythran

[Doru Roman]

Now the confusion grows bigger.
When I spoke about "field" I was thinking of variables from C++, my mistake.
But I just took a look on the MS Visual C# .NET Unleashed - Hoffman & Kruger
and they refer to Class Attributes as physical characteristics of a class,
which
can be as simple as the color of an object or as complex as a contained
object or class.
You seem to refer to something like this:
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError=false, ExactSpelling=false)]
or
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class|AttributeTar gets.Struct,
AllowMultiple=true)]
Now in the light of the question from the test could you please explain
again what the
right answer is?
Is it a comment or a constructor and to what "ATTRIBUTE" it refers to?
"Mythran" <ki********@hotmail.comREMOVETRAIL> wrote in message
news:e6**************@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:eH**************@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

Now I understand what an attribute means. If I had known at the test time
I would have chosen
the right answer too.
If in C++ they were fields, now in C# they are attributes.

An attribute is not a field :)

An attribute is a class that you place on a class, method, or other member
that signifies to the framework (or custom code) to do something or
another (or just flags it as something important)...excerpt from the MSDN
documentation:

"The common language runtime allows you to add keyword-like descriptive
declarations, called attributes, to annotate programming elements such as
types, fields, methods, and properties. Attributes are saved with the
metadata of a Microsoft .NET Framework file and can be used to describe
your code to the runtime or to affect application behavior at run time.
While the .NET Framework supplies many useful attributes, you can also
design and deploy your own."

In C#, you apply attributes (such as the DescriptionAttribute) as follows:

[Description("This is a description for the following property.")]
public int MyInt
{
get {
return mMyInt;
}
}

There are also attributes in the AssemblyInfo file that affect the entire
assembly, such as AssemblyKeyName or AssemblyKeyFile. Others allow you to
document (in the metadata) the product name, version, description,
copyright information, and so on.

They don't just stop there. There are attributes that tell the framework
that you have to have a specific permission in order to create a class,
access a method / property, and so on. Attributes are powerful elements
in .Net that help you create assemblies for your clients/customers.

HTH,
Mythran

[Lucian Wischik]

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote:

[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError=false, ExactSpelling=false)]
or
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class|AttributeTar gets.Struct)]

When talking about C#, an attribute is unambiguously this kind of
thing.
These attributes can apply to classes, members, namespaces &c. You
think of them as compile-time directives about that
class/member/namespace. However, their special feature is that
developers can add their OWN attributes. (imagine if you could add
compile-time directives to C!...) How do developers provide their own
attributes? -- answer: by implementing the attribute itself as an
object class. And, being a class, of course the attribute has a
constructor. Every class has a constructor. So that's your answer.

--
Lucian

[Doru Roman]

Thanks Lucian.
"Lucian Wischik" <lu***@wischik.com> wrote in message
news:7p********************************@4ax.com...

"Doru Roman" <do*******@rogers.com> wrote:

[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError=false, ExactSpelling=false)]
or
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class|AttributeTar gets.Struct)]

When talking about C#, an attribute is unambiguously this kind of
thing.
These attributes can apply to classes, members, namespaces &c. You
think of them as compile-time directives about that
class/member/namespace. However, their special feature is that
developers can add their OWN attributes. (imagine if you could add
compile-time directives to C!...) How do developers provide their own
attributes? -- answer: by implementing the attribute itself as an
object class. And, being a class, of course the attribute has a
constructor. Every class has a constructor. So that's your answer.

--
Lucian

[Jon Skeet [C# MVP]]

Lucian Wischik <lu***@wischik.com> wrote:

<snip>

And, being a class, of course the attribute has a
constructor. Every class has a constructor. So that's your answer.

Careful - that's not quite true any more. Static classes (new in C#
2.0) don't have constructors.

Now, static classes always derive directly from object, so it's not an
issue here - I'm only disputing the "Every class has a constructor"
statement.

--
Jon Skeet - <sk***@pobox.com>
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet
If replying to the group, please do not mail me too

[Doru Roman]

Then what would be the answer to the question?
"Jon Skeet [C# MVP]" <sk***@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:MP************************@msnews.microsoft.c om...

Lucian Wischik <lu***@wischik.com> wrote:

<snip>

And, being a class, of course the attribute has a
constructor. Every class has a constructor. So that's your answer.

Careful - that's not quite true any more. Static classes (new in C#
2.0) don't have constructors.

Now, static classes always derive directly from object, so it's not an
issue here - I'm only disputing the "Every class has a constructor"
statement.

--
Jon Skeet - <sk***@pobox.com>
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet
If replying to the group, please do not mail me too

[Jon Skeet [C# MVP]]

Doru Roman <do*******@rogers.com> wrote:

Then what would be the answer to the question?

The same as it was before. Every attribute class does indeed have a
constructor, but not all classes have constructors.

--
Jon Skeet - <sk***@pobox.com>
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/jon.skeet
If replying to the group, please do not mail me too