Common Intermediate Language

Not to be confused with C Intermediate Language.

Common Intermediate Language (CIL), formerly called Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) or Intermediate Language (IL),[1] is the intermediate language binary instruction set defined within the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) specification.[2] CIL instructions are executed by a CIL-compatible runtime environment such as the Common Language Runtime. Languages which target the CLI compile to CIL. CIL is object-oriented, stack-based bytecode. Runtimes typically just-in-time compile CIL instructions into native code.

CIL was originally known as Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) during the beta releases of the .NET languages. Due to standardization of C# and the CLI, the bytecode is now officially known as CIL.[3] Windows Defender virus definitions continue to refer to binaries compiled with it as MSIL.[4]

  1. ^ "Intermediate Language & execution".
  2. ^ "ECMA-335 Common Language Infrastructure (CLI)".
  3. ^ "What is Intermediate Language(IL)/MSIL/CIL in .NET". Retrieved 2011-02-17. CIL: ... When we compile [a]. NET project, it [is] not directly converted to binary code but to the intermediate language. When a project is run, every language of .NET programming is converted into binary code into CIL. Only some part of CIL that is required at run time is converted into binary code. DLL and EXE of .NET are also in CIL form.
  4. ^ "HackTool:MSIL/SkypeCracker". Microsoft. Retrieved 26 November 2019.