CODEWITHSUNDEEP
visual-studio-2012express
TDo
TDo

Reputation: 13

Combining c++ and c# projects in Visual Studio express 2012 for Windows desktop (windows 7)

Been using VS2010 express. Writing in C# which i figured was a good middle step towards object oriented languages. One thing that has made my code somewhat repetitive is the inability to use multiple class inheritance in C#. I.e. I can't say class A inherits from class B and class C.

c# is great because you can quickly and easily get windows with buttons textboxes and dials up and running. This is not available in C++ in the express version since the MFC libraries are not included.

Now, I have thought of just desinging a C# front end which saves parameters to a file then execute a c++ which reads the file, runs and then saves a file which i open with another(or the same) c# backend exec to read and play ard with the results. But this would make it cumbersome always executing the whole sequence again if you want to change something. Not to mention debugging, will probably need to have to instances running.

Reading on of the Visual studio 2012 Express for desktop announcment, it stated that "You can also combine C++, C#, and Visual Basic projects into a single solution, making it easy to write a single application using any of the available languages." http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2012/09/12/visual-studio-express-2012-for-windows-desktop-is-here.aspx?PageIndex=3

Now I would be happy with that, after all I dont expect and dont need at this stage to do any wizbank stuff i.e special button functionality/design which is easier and provided with the MFC in C++.

My question is: Has anyone tried this in Visual Studio 2012 in the Express for windows desktop version in Windows 7''? I.e can you combine a c++ and a c# projects which interact, trace the code form one project to another when debugging for example? Are there any special restrictions? I mean if its combining executables only its not much use, but i expect its more than that, but how much more? For example, can an object designed in C# instanciate an object designed in c++ pass it a reference to other objects like classes which hold inputs and outputs or data which are proccessed in the c++ class and still accesible in the c# code to display results etc?

I am asking this before downloading the new express version because I expect it will set me back a couple of months since going from C# to C++ i would think is like going from Visual Basic to C. I wouldnt want to get into all the trouble (i dont mind really but it would be huge step back) to find out i cant "seemlesly" integrate a c# front end with a C++ proccesing solution.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 7595

Answers (1)

Dark Falcon
Dark Falcon

Reputation: 44191

You have three options for interfacing C++ with C#:

  1. pinvoke: You specify function signatures in C# and give them an attribute specifying what DLL they reside in. This is fairly painful to do if you need to pass around any complex types at all.

  2. COM: A C++ DLL would implement a COM object called by the C# code.

  3. C++/CLI: Allows mixing of managed and unmanaged C++ code in a single C++ project. It is very nice for interfacing with other libraries but, in VS 2010 at least, lacks helpful features such as intellisense. If you really wanted to go this route, I would write three projects: Your core C++ code as a static library, your C++/CLI DLL to wrap it, and your C# application.

Upvotes: 2

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