CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#c++
Brian R. Bondy
Brian R. Bondy

Reputation: 347196

Is it possible to use a C++ .lib file from within a C# program?

Is it possible to use a C++ .lib file from within a C# program?

Upvotes: 6

Views: 2502

Answers (8)

patrick
patrick

Reputation: 16949

you can't use a lib, but like the others said, you can use it if you wrap it into a dll.

swig can take the headers of your .lib, and if they are not too complex it can generate the dll for you which you would then call with a pinvoke from c# which would also be generated by swig.

if your library is complex and has reference counted smart pointers everywhere, you should find an alternative.

Upvotes: 0

Alan
Alan

Reputation: 13721

I would take a look at swig, we use this to good effect on our project to expose our C++ API to other language platforms.

It's a well maintained project that effectively builds a thin wrapper around your C++ library that can allow languages such as C# to communicate directly with your native code - saving you the trouble of having to implement (and debug) glue code.

Upvotes: 2

Tim Lovell-Smith
Tim Lovell-Smith

Reputation:

That depends, do you have any limitations on this scenario?

If you have a lib file, it should be possible to first compile it into a DLL file, secondly exposing the functions you want to call in the DLL interface, and thirdly, call them using C# native methods (have a look at pinvoke.net on how to do this bit).

Upvotes: 0

Vivek
Vivek

Reputation: 16508

What you need is a managed wrapper (C++/CLI) around the native C/C++ library that you are working with.

If you are looking for any C++/CLI book I'd recommend Nishant Sivakumar's C++/CLI in Action

Upvotes: 3

osp70
osp70

Reputation: 1102

Already answered to wrap it but here's an example . Good luck!

Upvotes: 2

Assaf Lavie
Assaf Lavie

Reputation: 75913

There are plenty of ways. Read about "interop" in MSDN..

One way is to expose the lib as a DLL, and then use pinvoke to call these functions from a C# project. That limits you to a C-style interface, though.

If your interface is more complex (e.g. object oriented) you can create a C++/CLI layer that will expose the lib's class structure to your C# program. This means you'll have to create a managed C++ (or C++/CLI as it's now called) project; then design an interface in managed code that will be implemented by calls to native C++ (i.e. your lib).

Another way of doing this is by wrapping your lib with a COM interface. But COM's a pain, so I wouldn't...

Upvotes: 8

Rob Walker
Rob Walker

Reputation: 47452

Not directly. You can create a C++/CLI assembly that consumes the lib and then access that from C#, or you can wrap the lib as a DLL.

Upvotes: 6

JaredPar
JaredPar

Reputation: 754525

No. You can only use a full .dll from a C# program.

Upvotes: 1

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