Where could I get the information about the in-memory layout info of .NET Object Model?

Question

I want to know the in-memory representation of .NET constructs such as "interface", "class", "struct", etc. There's an excellent book for C++ object model - <Inside the C++ Object Model> by Stanley. Lippman, I want a similar book for .NET and C#.

I have read some books about .NET, but they are mostly about the logical usage of .NET. None of them talks about the physical in-memory layout info. I think it's necessary to know at least one implementation of .NET.

I have read about the "Drill Into .NET Framework Internals to See How the CLR Creates Runtime Objects" Could someone provide some hints about more in-depth books and articles?

If this info is not publicly avaialble. Shared source one like Mono or Shared Source CLI could be an option.

Many thanks.

Answer 1

As already mentioned, CLR Via C# is a really good source of information. And if you want to get into the nitty gritty details you can take a look at the SSCLI (Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure), which is a early branch of the initial .NET Framework implementation from the MS source. The current version of SSCLI covers a significant number of framework 2.0 feature set.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8c09fd61-3f26-4555-ae17-3121b4f51d4d

There was also a book that covered the SSCLI, but that was for version 1, but might still be of use.

http://www.amazon.com/Shared-Source-Essentials-David-Stutz/dp/059600351X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271220840&sr=8-1