Essential .NET, Volume 1: The Common Language Runtime

Indirect Method Invocation and Delegates

The previous discussion looked at how MethodInfo objects give developers the capability of invoking a specific method on any type-compatible object. Because a MethodInfo object is affiliated with a type but not an object, invocation using MethodInfo requires that one supply the target object reference explicitly each time one invokes a method. In many cases, this is perfectly acceptable. However, it is often desirable to bind to a particular method on a specific object, and that is the role of delegates.

Delegates provide a mechanism for binding to a specific method on a specific target object. Binding to a specific target object eliminates the need to explicitly supply the target object reference at invocation ...