Object.GetType Method

Gets the Type of the current instance.

[Visual Basic]
Public Function GetType() As Type
[C#]
public Type GetType();
[C++]
public: Type* GetType();
[JScript]
public function GetType() : Type;

Return Value

The Type instance that represents the exact runtime type of the current instance.

Remarks

For two objects x and y that have identical runtime types, Object.ReferenceEquals(x.GetType(),y.GetType()) returns true.

The Type object exposes the metadata associated with the class of the current Object.

Example

[C#, C++, JScript] The following code example demonstrates that GetType returns the runtime type of the current instance.

[C#] 
using System;

public class MyBaseClass: Object {
}

public class MyDerivedClass: MyBaseClass {
}

public class Test {

   public static void Main() {
      MyBaseClass myBase = new MyBaseClass();
      MyDerivedClass myDerived = new MyDerivedClass();
      object o = myDerived;
      MyBaseClass b = myDerived;

      Console.WriteLine("mybase: Type is {0}", myBase.GetType());
      Console.WriteLine("myDerived: Type is {0}", myDerived.GetType());
      Console.WriteLine("object o = myDerived: Type is {0}", o.GetType());
      Console.WriteLine("MyBaseClass b = myDerived: Type is {0}", b.GetType());
   }
}


/*

This code produces the following output.

mybase: Type is MyBaseClass
myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass
object o = myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass
MyBaseClass b = myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass 

*/

[C++] 
#using <mscorlib.dll>
using namespace System;

public __gc class MyBaseClass: public Object {
};

public __gc class MyDerivedClass: public MyBaseClass {
};

int main() {
   MyBaseClass* myBase = new MyBaseClass();
   MyDerivedClass* myDerived = new MyDerivedClass();
   Object* o = myDerived;
   MyBaseClass* b = myDerived;

   Console::WriteLine(S"mybase: Type is {0}", myBase->GetType());
   Console::WriteLine(S"myDerived: Type is {0}", myDerived->GetType());
   Console::WriteLine(S"object o = myDerived: Type is {0}", o->GetType());
   Console::WriteLine(S"MyBaseClass b = myDerived: Type is {0}", b->GetType());
}

/*

This code produces the following output.

mybase: Type is MyBaseClass
myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass
object o = myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass
MyBaseClass b = myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass 

*/

[JScript] 
import System

public class MyBaseClass extends Object {
}

public class MyDerivedClass extends MyBaseClass {
}

public class Test {

   public static function Main() {
      var myBase : MyBaseClass = new MyBaseClass();
      var myDerived : MyDerivedClass = new MyDerivedClass();
      var o = myDerived;
      var b : MyBaseClass = myDerived;

      Console.WriteLine("mybase: Type is {0}", myBase.GetType());
      Console.WriteLine("myDerived: Type is {0}", myDerived.GetType());
      Console.WriteLine("object o = myDerived: Type is {0}", o.GetType());
      Console.WriteLine("MyBaseClass b = myDerived: Type is {0}", b.GetType());
   }
}

Test.Main();

/*

This code produces the following output.

mybase: Type is MyBaseClass
myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass
object o = myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass
MyBaseClass b = myDerived: Type is MyDerivedClass 

*/

[Visual Basic] No example is available for Visual Basic. To view a C#, C++, or JScript example, click the Language Filter button in the upper-left corner of the page.

Requirements

Platforms: Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 family, .NET Compact Framework, Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) Standard

See Also

Object Class | Object Members | System Namespace | Type