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Calling C# .NET methods from unmanaged C/C++ code

4.83/5 (32 votes)
13 Dec 2013CPOL1 min read 290.6K   12.1K  
Describes with an example of how you can call C#.NET methods from unmanaged C++ code.

Introduction

For a number of reasons which I won't get into, I needed to use a C# .NET DLL from unmanaged code. I spent a long time looking for the answer before figuring it out. So I thought I'd post the example here to spread the word.

The way it works is fairly straightforward and requires three components:

  1. C# DLL doing whatever.
  2. Managed C++ DLL with exposed C function. This DLL will call your C# DLL methods. 
  3. Unmanaged C++ application/DLL which will call the exposed C function in the Managed C++ DLL.

Using the code

Create your C# DLL. The below example just shows a simple MessageBox and sets the result of the value based on OK or CANCEL.

C#
// ManagedClass.cs

// Any source code blocks look like this
//

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.IO;

namespace ManagedCSharp
{
    public static class ManagedClass
    {
        public static void ShowValue(ref int value)
        {
            DialogResult result = MessageBox.Show("C# Message Box", 
                    "C# Message Box", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel);

            if (result == DialogResult.OK)
                value = 1;
            else
                value = 2;
            return;
        }
    }
}

Create a Managed C++ DLL and reference it in your C# project.

This exports your function ShowMessageBox in an unmanaged format.

Inside the exported function, call the Managed C++ method which calls your C# methods.

MC++
// ManagedDll.h

#pragma once

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Reflection;

namespace ManagedDll {    

    public ref class DoWork
    {
        public:void ShowCSharpMessageBox(int *value)
        {            
            ManagedCSharp::ManagedClass::ShowValue(*value);
            return;
        }
    };
}

__declspec(dllexport) void ShowMessageBox(int *value)
{
    ManagedDll::DoWork work;    
    work.ShowCSharpMessageBox(value);    
}

Create your unmanaged C or C++ DLL or EXE and call the exposed C++ method in your managed code.

In your unmanaged project setting, you will need to reference the ManagedDll.lib file created by the ManagedDll project and build time.

MC++
// TestApp.cpp : Defines the entry point for the console application.
//

#include "stdafx.h"
#include "conio.h"
#include <iostream>
#include <windows.h>

_declspec(dllexport) void ShowMessageBox(int *value);


int _tmain()
{
    int *result;

    ShowMessageBox(result);

    if(*result == 1)
        printf("Ok Was Pressed \n");
    else
        if(*result == 2)
            printf("Cancel Was Pressed \n");
        else
            printf("Unknown result \n");

    system("pause");

    return 0;
}

Find the attached full project which should build straight away. Built in Visual Studio 2008.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)