CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#c++notepad++dllexport
Mike Webb
Mike Webb

Reputation: 9013

Is it possible to export functions from a C# DLL like in VS C++?

In VS C/C++ you could use extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) -function declaration-.

How do I accomplish this in a C# dll? Is there C# code equivalent to the above code?

Edit: More info

I am trying to create an add in for Notepad++ and I want to use C#, but the common way I've seen so far is to use legacy C++ code with the above call to export a few of the functions that Notepad++ expects to import and call. There is an example app using C#, but this still requires a loader DLL, which I assume from the comments/answers below is the only way for C#.

Upvotes: 45

Views: 84895

Answers (5)

Simon Mourier
Simon Mourier

Reputation: 139256

There's now an open source package called DNNE aka "Native Exports for .NET" available here: https://github.com/AaronRobinsonMSFT/DNNE

As for today, it' requires .NET6 installed, but it does support exporting .NET Framework 4.8 .dll functions as well.

Upvotes: 3

hB0
hB0

Reputation: 2037

Unmanaged Exports => https://sites.google.com/site/robertgiesecke/Home/uploads/unmanagedexports

DLLExport => https://github.com/3F/DllExport

How does it work?

Create a new classlibrary or proceed with an existing one. Then add the UnmanagedExports Nuget package.

This is pretty much all setup that is required.

Now you can write any kind of static method, decorate it with [DllExport] and use it from native code.
It works just like DllImport, so you can customize the marshalling of parameters/result with MarshalAsAttribute.

During compilation, my task will modify the IL to add the required exports...

Upvotes: 41

Patrick White
Patrick White

Reputation: 241

Yes, it is possible to export functions from a C# dll in much the same way that C++ does it! You need a little help from an add-in Unmanaged Exports (DllExport for .Net) that facilitates this process, or from a similar method such as Exporting functions in C#/VB.NET to native code.

Please see Code to Export C# DLL to Metatrader Build 600+ for a working example using Robert Giesecke's C# Project Template for Unmanaged Exports to export a C# dll to a legacy application (Metatrader) that has a great deal of similarity to C++.

Additionally, you might find Native and .NET Interopability interesting though it is mostly geared toward accessing native code from within .NET rather than the other way around.

Upvotes: 10

Ben Voigt
Ben Voigt

Reputation: 283883

I've seen people do this before, but it required ildasm, adding the MSIL .export directive, and then reassembling. A program named dll_tool can do these steps for you.

If you want to build a mixed-mode DLL with both native and managed exports, you should be using C++/CLI, which is specially designed for this purpose.

Upvotes: 21

Sarfaraz Nawaz
Sarfaraz Nawaz

Reputation: 361762

No, you cannot do that in the same sense as you do in C and C++.

But you can create COM API to achieve that which then you can use in C and C++ code.

See these articles

Upvotes: 1

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