Question

What is the best way to convert a string into a Type object in .NET?

Issues to consider:

• The type may be in a different assembly.
• The type’s assembly may not be loaded yet.

This is my attempt, but it doesn’t address the second issue

Public Function FindType(ByVal name As String) As Type     Dim base As Type      base = Reflection.Assembly.GetEntryAssembly.GetType(name, False, True)     If base IsNot Nothing Then Return base      base = Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly.GetType(name, False, True)     If base IsNot Nothing Then Return base      For Each assembly As Reflection.Assembly In _       AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies         base = assembly.GetType(name, False, True)         If base IsNot Nothing Then Return base     Next     Return Nothing End Function 

Answer 1

you might need to call GetReferencedAssemblies() method for the second.

namespace reflectme {     using System;     public class hello     {         public hello()         {             Console.WriteLine('hello');             Console.ReadLine();         }         static void Main(string[] args)         {             Type t = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetType('reflectme.hello');             t.GetConstructor(System.Type.EmptyTypes).Invoke(null);         }     } }