CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netc++unmanagedmanaged
yiingchau
yiingchau

Reputation:

Possible to call C++ code from C#?

Is it possible to call C++ code, possibly compiled as a code library file (.dll), from within a .NET language such as C#?

Specifically, C++ code such as the RakNet networking library.

Upvotes: 99

Views: 132071

Answers (7)

TWA
TWA

Reputation: 12826

Yes, it is called P/Invoke.

Here's a great resource site for using it with the Win32 API:

http://www.pinvoke.net/

Upvotes: 6

Mehrdad Afshari
Mehrdad Afshari

Reputation: 422212

I'm not familiar with the library you mentioned, but in general there are a couple ways to do so:

  • P/Invoke to exported library functions
  • Adding a reference to the COM type library (in case you're dealing with COM objects).

Upvotes: 9

Eclipse
Eclipse

Reputation: 45533

One easy way to call into C++ is to create a wrapper assembly in C++/CLI. In C++/CLI you can call into unmanaged code as if you were writing native code, but you can call into C++/CLI code from C# as if it were written in C#. The language was basically designed with interop into existing libraries as its "killer app".

For example - compile this with the /clr switch

#include "NativeType.h"

public ref class ManagedType
{
     NativeType*   NativePtr; 

public:
     ManagedType() : NativePtr(new NativeType()) {}
     ~ManagedType() { delete NativePtr; }

     void ManagedMethod()
      { NativePtr->NativeMethod(); } 
};

Then in C#, add a reference to your ManagedType assembly, and use it like so:

ManagedType mt = new ManagedType();
mt.ManagedMethod();

Check out this blog post for a more explained example.

Upvotes: 104

plinth
plinth

Reputation: 49199

P/Invoke is a nice technology, and it works fairly well, except for issues in loading the target DLL file. We've found that the best way to do things is to create a static library of native functions and link that into a Managed C++ (or C++/CLI) project that depends upon it.

Upvotes: 12

Frank Schwieterman
Frank Schwieterman

Reputation: 24478

The technology used to do this is called P/Invoke; you can search for articles on the subject. Note that it is for calling C from C#, not C++ so much. So you'll need to wrap your C++ code in a C wrapper that your DLL exports.

Upvotes: 2

Mat Nadrofsky
Mat Nadrofsky

Reputation: 8264

Sure is. This article is a good example of something you can do to get started on this.

We do this from C# on our Windows Mobile devices using P/Invoke.

Upvotes: 2

Soumendra
Soumendra

Reputation: 1202

Have you considered Apache Thrift?

http://thrift.apache.org/

It seems like a very very neat solution.

Upvotes: -3

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