How can I view MSIL / CIL generated by C# compiler? Why is it called assembly?

Question

I'm new to .NET C# programming. I'm following few books. It is said that instead of compiling C# code directly to machine code, it is converted into an intermediate language (called MSIL aka CIL). But when I compile, I get an exe/dll file.

1. Is this MSIL/CIL contained in these exe/dll files?
2. I want to see that intermediate language code, just to get feel for its existence. How do I view it?
3. They are calling this exe/dll file an assembly. Are they using this "fancy word" just to differentiate these from the exe/dll files that contain native/machine code?

Answer 1

1. Yes it is, more exactly in the .text section of the PE file (portable executable = *.exe or *.dll). More information can be found here.
2. The best choice is to use ILSpy (Reflector is no longer free). It's a free disassembler that can dissassemble your assembly into MSIL but also C#, VB (to some extent). The .NET Framework SDK contains ILDasm, which is the official MSIL dissasembler.
3. Basically yes. An assembly is a file that contains MSIL code and corresponding metadata. This is not restricted to PE files per se, but all current CLR implementations use them.

If I may recommend a good book on that matter too, it's Expert .NET 2.0 IL Assembler by Serge Lidin. He's the guy who designed MSIL.