How do I call a native library from C#?

Question

What is the best solution to access c# code via native code (C++)?

I have C# code which I want to call from native project, so I'm considering writing a COM wrapper but I wonder whether there is a better option (framework/design pattern/architecture etc.) available in .NET?

Who is close-voting this I wonder? The question is which approach is the industry practice. It looks like there's too much unused close votes out there. — sharptooth, Mar 04 '15 at 14:46

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 04 '15 at 08:56

COM interop is without a doubt the best bet. It's a known, supported framework for achieving exactly what you want to achieve.

There is another alternative however - it is possible to edit the IL code inside a compiled .NET assembly to flag methods within the assembly as native exports. A detailed breakdown of the changes can be found in this CodeProject article.

Robert Giesecke has created Unmanaged Exports to simplify this process using simple method attributes. A NuGet package can be found here.

How do I call a native library from C#?

1 Answers1