OPCFoundation.NetStandard.Opc.Ua.Client.ComplexTypes

OPC UA .NET Standard — Client.ComplexTypes (legacy reflection-emit loader)

OPCFoundation.NetStandard.Opc.Ua.Client.ComplexTypes is the legacy reflection-emit complex-type and data-type loader. It walks a server's DataTypeSystem, fetches the missing DataType definitions, generates runtime types using System.Reflection.Emit, and registers them with the IServiceMessageContext so the encoders / decoders can round-trip server-defined Structures, Optionals, Unions, and Enumerations.

When to use this package

Most consumers do not need this package. The OPCFoundation.NetStandard.Opc.Ua.Client package ships a NativeAOT-friendly complex-type loader that does not require System.Reflection.Emit — it builds the runtime StructureDefinition / EnumDefinition graphs directly. Prefer that path for any new application, and especially for trimmed / NativeAOT deployments where reflection-emit is unavailable.

Reference Opc.Ua.Client.ComplexTypes only when:

• You have a 1.5.378-era codebase that relied on the ComplexTypeSystem reflection-emit API and you are not ready to migrate, or
• You explicitly need to reflect over the runtime-generated CLR types (e.g. you bind them into a UI grid, serialize them through a third-party reflection-based serializer, or use them with System.Linq.Expressions).

For straight-through encode / decode of server-defined complex types no consumer-side reflection is required — use Opc.Ua.Client.

Getting started

using Opc.Ua.Client;
using Opc.Ua.Client.ComplexTypes;

var loader = new ComplexTypeSystem(session);
await loader.LoadAsync();
// session.MessageContext.Factory now resolves the server's custom types
// as reflection-emit-generated CLR types.

Target frameworks

net48, net8.0, net9.0, net10.0. The package is not NativeAOT-compatible because the runtime type emission depends on System.Reflection.Emit.

Additional documentation

See the main repository README and the Complex Types guide for the full design (legacy reflection-emit loader vs. the NativeAOT-friendly loader in Opc.Ua.Client).