The Visual Basic compiler and .NET platform automatically recognize the meaning of the attributes based on attribute classes in the .NET Framework Class Library. This recognition isn't true, however, for custom attributes. Thus, not only must you define them, you must also develop a set of routines that will identify the presence of an attribute so your code can handle them. NET assemblies are self-describing; when the compiler creates the .NET assembly, it writes metadata describing the assembly and its classes and methods to the assembly manifest. This metadata is then accessed programmatically at runtime by using the .NET Framework's reflection classes.
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