Can GetTypeInfo ever return null?

Question

I am rewriting some code (targeting .NET 4.5.2. currently) that uses reflection to compile for .NET Standard 1.4. I therefore need to use GetTypeInfo() on a Type at many places.

In order to handle the edge cases correctly, my question is, can GetTypeInfo() ever return null? The documentation (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.reflection.introspectionextensions.gettypeinfo(v=vs.110).aspx) is silent about this.

When I open a source of GetTypeInfo() from a standard .NET 4.5.2 project, I get:

public static class IntrospectionExtensions
{
    public static TypeInfo GetTypeInfo(this Type type){
        if(type == null){
            throw new ArgumentNullException("type");
        }
        var rcType=(IReflectableType)type;
        if(rcType==null){
            return null;
        }else{
            return rcType.GetTypeInfo();
        }
    }   
}

That is still confusing. There is a code branch that returns null when '(IReflectableType)type' is null, but why? - the 'type' itself is checked against null before, and an exception is thrown when it is null, therefore I cannot see how 'rcType' can ever be null (mind you, this is not an 'as' operator, it is a straight typecast).

In a good tradition, the documentation on IReflectableType.GetTypeInfo (, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.reflection.ireflectabletype.gettypeinfo(v=vs.110).aspx ) is also silent about the possibility of a null outcome.

A code that uses reflection needs to use GetTypeInfo at many places, and if a null results is allowed, it would therefore require to have a null check and a corresponding action at every such place. I have checked other people's code (including Microsoft's own example at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.reflection.typeinfo%28v=vs.110%29.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396 ) and developers seem to be treating it as a null result was not possible. Is that correct?

Answer 1

GetTypeInfo() is never supposed to return null.

See the new code in .NET Core and the comment that Microsoft people who ported this code left.