Invoking a Delegate

When you declare a DELEGATE-ID, the compiler creates a class that inherits from the System.MulticastDelegate class. All delegates have a method named 'Invoke' whose signature matches the signature of the method in your DELEGATE-ID declaration. Therefore, if you hold an object reference to a delegate instance, you can invoke the INVOKE method on this object which actually invokes the implementation of the method supplied when the delegate was constructed.

We provide a sample program that declares a new delegate class using DELEGATE-ID and then demonstrates how that delegate can be invoked using either static or instance method implementations. However, it's useful to note that in most cases, the delegate pattern is used in a more client/server like role where one software component provides the delegate definition and a separate component provides the implementation e.g. a method to be executed when a button on a form is clicked.