So i have one C# desktop application that references a C++ dll. This dll project was developped by other persons, it can't be compiled on visual studio, I use NMake with the parameter -DCMAKE_BUILB=Debug to generate the .dll & .PDB files. I copied the files on the C# project reference folder and enabled Debugging of Unmanaged Code in the project properties. So im actualy able to debug unmanaged code from the dll. My issue is that i can't inspect any of the object nor the variables im lokking in the unmanaged code side. The visual studio contextual inspector doen't show when I passe my mouse on the objects/variables & when trying to add a spy it's not better. I need to see the values of the objects/variables from the unmanaged code to make sure it doen't do anything wrong.
Note : a coworker of mine had already opened a thread here How add spy on Visual studio using unmanaged code
But sadly the thread was closed for lack of details, so I tried to add more details to describe the issue.
Pls don't close this one
Inspect unmanaged C++ objects/variables on Visual studio 2017
Suggestion
Update 1
Please make sure that you have installed the C++ development and C# development workload in VS Installer. That's all the premises.
1) when you reference the path of the dll, make sure that the pdb file already exists under the reference folder(the folder where you referenced the dll) and then use DLLImport node to import the c++ functions.
2) Tools-->Options-->Debugging-->General-->check the option Used Managed Compatibility Mode
3) Right-click on your C# project-->Properties---> Debugging-->check the option Enable native code debugging
Also, check Allow unsafe code option under Build.
4) also, if your c++ dll is built with x64 platform, you should also use x64 platform to debug your c# main project.
In addition, you can refer to this similar issue for more detailed info.
Related
I am developing a .NET core (.NET Standard 1.6) application in VS2015. The application calls C++ code via P/Invoke. Now I need to step into the C/C++ code of my native dll project.
In regular .NET application, by enabling unmanaged code debugging in the property window of the application, we can step into the C/C++ code directly:
But I can't find such option on a .NET core project. And I know that I can attach the debugger to the application to debug native code only, but that's not suitable for my case.
Again, I want to debug from managed C# code into native C/C++ code.
Any ideas?
Maybe I should switch back to .NET Framework so I can debug the native code. It's really hard to debug by printf. :(
UPDATE
The mixed mode debugging, i.e. debugging from managed C# code into native C/C++ code, has been implemented. See Tutorial: Debug managed and native code in Visual Studio.
UPDATE
The feature may have already been implemented, see this.
Just as #cynic said, this is not yet supported now (2016-11-1).
That can be verified by following steps provided by cynic.
Put a pause in your program (e.g. a Console.ReadKey call).
Attaching to the dotnet.exe process selecting "Managed (CoreCLR)" and "Native" code types
You'll get a message box stating explicitly that "Interop debugging is not supported".
Here is a proper way to debug the native dll.
Right click on the solution, Add Existing Project
Open 'dotnet.exe'. This is normally installed to 'C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe'.
You should now see another node in solution explorer for dotnet.exe. Right click it to bring up project properties:
Change the working directory to be what you want
Change the arguments to be the path to your built dll
Change the exe project to your startup project
RECOMENDED: Go to Tools->Options->Projects and Solutions->Build and Run, uncheck 'Only build startup projects and dependcies on Run'
I want to add Scintilla to my project, because I want to make my own HTML editor.
Visual Studio doesn't want to add a reference to SciLexer.dll and SciLexer64.dll.
I've dont everything in the installation instructions.
I'm using Windows 7 64 bit and Visual Studio 2012.
It's pretty clear in the documentation. You want to reference only ScintillaNET.dll in your project, and ensure that SciLexer.dll and SciLexer64.dll are somewhere in your path. The ScintillaNET.dll is a wrapper around the two other unmanaged DLL's, and used P/Invoke to call them.
This means that you need to ensure that the unmanaged DLL's are deployed with your application.
I'm a C# programmer who hasn't used C++ since the pre-.Net days.
I have a C# .Net DLL that I use with other C# programs. In the calling program in Visual Studio I simply do an "Add Resource..." and a Using" statement in the code that calls into it and voilà! there it is.
Now I have a customer who wants to access our DLL in a Visual Studio 2010 C++ (CLI) program. So I want to make a practice C++ program that uses our DLL. What's the equivalent of Add Reference in a C++/CLI project and what do I put in the program to expose the namespace for my DLL? Where does the DLL have to physically be? In the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio for the C++ project I don't see the same things as I do in a C# project.
Right click on the project in Visual Studio, and select "References". You should have a dialog with a few references already attached ("System" and a few others perhaps). Click "Add New Reference" and browse to the assembly (or project if it's in the same solution) that you want to use.
Have you read the knowledgebase on calling native (.net) code from c++? It is about Visual Studio 2005, but the process should be the same.
How to call a managed DLL from native Visual C++ code in Visual Studio.NET or in Visual Studio
And there is a related (identical) question on here as well:
using c# dll in project c++
Edit since I missed the bit where it's about a managed C++ project:
How to add references to a managed Visual C++ project
.NET references
.NET references point to shared assemblies. For example, the assembly System.Windows.Forms.dll is a standard assembly for accessing the Windows Forms classes. In order to use this assembly in a Managed C++ application, you simply have to reference it with a #using preprocessor directive, as shown here:
#using <System.Windows.Forms.dll>
I have been trying to monitor video memory for a highly performance intensive program.
So I used the NVIDIA CUDA libraries in a C++ Visual Studio Application to collect the data I need.
Unfortunately I need a package that can be used with Ruby, C# and the Software Testing tools my company has.
So I decided to compile a C++ DLL and import it into a C# Visual Studio Project for testing.
I was able to compile the DLL but importing it into my Visual C# Program has been an issue.
I right Click on References -> Add Reference. Then I click on the Browse tab and browse to the location of my DLL; "TestProgram.dll" and I click "OK"
Then I get the following Error message "A reference to C:.... could not be added. Please make sure that the file is accessible, and that it is a valid assembly or COM component."
What I have tried so far:
1. Importing the DLL from several different locations on my system.
2. Moving the DLL into my Solution Explorer and importing it
3. Using the "Invoke" method: [DllImport("PathToMyDll")]
4. Using the "Invoke" method with just my dll name.
5. Typing 'using' path to my DLL
6. Exporting the dll as a .lib file instead
What am I doing wrong? I thought that if I exported a DLL using Visual Studio 2010 then surely that same DLL could be Added into a Visual Studio 2010 project.
Well, is it a valid Assembly or COM component? Just because it's a C++ DLL doesn't mean it can be used with just a reference, in fact, most can't. It needs to be a managed DLL or a COM object. If it's none of those, then you have to invoke unmanaged code from a managed assembly. That means defining each function in a stub.
More info here: how to call a C++ dll exported function from c#
Be aware, you also have to deal with 64/32 bit issues, since if the DLL is compiled for 32 bit, you can't use it in a 64 bit application.
I found the solution to this problem. CUDA creates a Windows Console Application project. So the solution was to just use that instead of a DLL.
This worked well because Ruby, Test Complete and Visual C# can read the output from a basic .exe console program (with some work).
The compiled exe is simple. All I need to do is pass in an integer as an argument when I launch the program and the program will get the data I need from my NVIDIA card.
The challenge now will be finding a good way to interface with the .exe.
I have an old DLL written in Visual Studio 6 which I am calling from C# written in Visual Studio 2010. The DLL is not working properly and I want to debug into it. How can I do this? I have the source code project but cannot see how I can step into it.
Note: When I say "doesn't work", the call to the DLL succeeds and it gets a little way through the code in the DLL before failing, but I want to track down exactly where.
The technique of debugging a DLL is described here on MSDN. You'll need to do this from Visual Studio 6 (i.e. the tool that developed the DLL) and so the terminology will have changed. But the principles remain the same.
Attaching VS6 debugger on the .NET process shall work, as long you have the PDB file with the corresponding binary and the sources. You can break only on DLL code, however.
Attaching another VS+ shall work if the flag "Allow unmanaged debugging" is checked, but there is a possibility that symbols are not loaded by the debugger. A recompilation of the DLL shall solve the last problem.
Open Visual C++ Dll project, set breakpoint where you need. In the Project properties, Debug, Executable for debug session, type .NET executable file which uses this Dll. Start debugging (Go). When VC++ function is called, debugger breaks. Using this way, you can debug only unmanaged VC++ code.
Another way is to start debugging from .NET client in mixed debugging mode. Add VC++ project to the solution and rebuild it to debug both managed and unmanaged code.