I hadn’t really had the need to use Attributes in C# until I started a recent open source project.  Now that I started using them, I’m finding that they are an extremely valuable tool!  In the project I’m working on, it’s my intent to display a user interface based on metadata from the class and property levels.

Because my work before .Net (before 2003 really) largely consisted of classic ASP ala VBScript, I hadn’t really understood metaprogramming or Reflection.  I didn’t get involved enough in Java development to ever need it either.  After using Reflection in my latest project and over the last 2 years building a few plug-in type systems, I am sold on its value.  On the CodingHorror blog, Jeff Atwood talks about Brad Abrams favorite class in the .Net Framework is String.  Well, I can’t narrow it down to one…in fact, I can’t narrow it down to a class!  So today I’m starting my Top 5 Namespaces in the .Net Framework.  System.Reflection is the first namespace to make the list.