What is the best way to pass a variable value from VBA to C# app?

Question

I need a way to pass a variable from VBA to C# app , The variable will be a string (a path) which will be used as a parameter in C# method (zip and unzip) .

Example : My VBA code in ms access :

Dim strSource,strDest,strPwd as string
strSource = CurrentProject.Path & "\AnyFolder"
strDest = CurrentProject.Path
strPwd = "BlaBla"

My C# Method would be like :

void UnZipMe()
           {

            string MyZip = VBA.strSource;
            string UnzipAt = VBA.strDest;
            string MyZipPass = VBA.Pwd;

            using (ZipFile archive = new ZipFile(MyZip))
            {
                archive.Password = MyZipPass;
                archive.Encryption = EncryptionAlgorithm.PkzipWeak; 
                archive.StatusMessageTextWriter = Console.Out;
                archive.ExtractAll(UnzipAt, ExtractExistingFileAction.Throw);
            }

        }

I could save VBA variable value in a table then get it from C# using OLEDB but i'm trying this way , Can it be done simply or just go for storing the values in access tables? thanks.

How are you planning on running this app? From the command line? If Yes then you could pass the arguments via that command line call... — Tim Williams, Jun 29 '22 at 17:47
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20917355/how-do-you-run-a-exe-with-parameters-using-vbas-shell — Tim Williams, Jun 29 '22 at 17:50
This is really opinion-based. For some situations, command-line args are fine. For more complicated params (where passing binary/typed data is important) and more deep integration, you have COM. For larger datasets/async operation, pipes can be used. And that's far from exhaustive, there are a lot more options. — Erik A, Jun 29 '22 at 18:16

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 29 '22 at 17:50

I'd pass them as command line arguments.

(this is untested pseudo-code. you'll probably need to enclose those parameters in quotes and possibly escape special characters).

Shell("C:\your-program.EXE " & strSource  & " " & strDest & " " & strPwd , 1)

Your C# program could be something like:

    internal class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            string MyZip = args[0];
            string UnzipAt = args[1];
            string MyZipPass = args[2];

            using (ZipFile archive = new ZipFile(MyZip))
            {
                archive.Password = MyZipPass;
                archive.Encryption = EncryptionAlgorithm.PkzipWeak;
                archive.StatusMessageTextWriter = Console.Out;
                archive.ExtractAll(UnzipAt, ExtractExistingFileAction.Throw);
            }

            Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
        }
    }

What is the best way to pass a variable value from VBA to C# app?

1 Answers1