Call c++ DLL from C# application - c#

I have C# as my front end application and I want to call c++ dll from my c# but I am getting error.
I am posting my code here please help me out how to resolve this:
Program.cs
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace TestCSharp
{
class Program
{
[DllImport("C:\\Users\\xyz\\source\\repos\\Project1\\Debug\\TestCpp.dll", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public static extern void DisplayHelloFromDLL(StringBuilder name, int appId);
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
StringBuilder str = new StringBuilder("name");
DisplayHelloFromDLL(str, str.Length);
str.Clear();
}
catch(DllNotFoundException exception)
{
Console.WriteLine(exception.Message);
}
catch(Exception exception)
{
Console.WriteLine("General exception " + exception.Message);
}
finally
{
Console.WriteLine("Try again");
}
}
}
}
and cpp code like below:
Header: source.h
#include <string>
using namespace std;
extern "C"
{
namespace Test
{
class test
{
public:
test();
__declspec(dllexport) void DisplayHelloFromDLL(char * name, int appId);
}
}
}
c++ class: source.cpp
#include <stdio.h>
#include "source.h"
Test::test::test()
{
printf("This is default constructor");
}
void Test::test::DisplayHelloFromDLL(char * name, int appId)
{
printf("Hello from DLL !\n");
printf("Name is %s\n", name);
printf("Length is %d \n", appId);
}
Code is building successfully but when I run this I got Unable to find an entry point named 'DisplayHelloFromDLL' in DLL.
Same CPP code when I am writing without using namespace and class, it is working fine.
i.e.
Header: source.h
extern "C"
{
__declspec(dllexport) void DisplayHelloFromDLL(char * name, int appId);
}
c++ class: source.cpp
#include "source.h"
void DisplayHelloFromDLL(char * name, int appId)
{
printf("Hello from DLL !\n");
printf("Name is %s\n", name);
printf("Length is %d \n", appId);
}
So how do I use DLL which has namespaces and claases in my c# application.

Thanks for the answers.
I resolved the issue by making one extra class(Wrapper class) that contains the managed code. This wrapper class is called by the c# classes in the same way as I mentioned in the question. This wrapper class than call the c++ class and return the result to the UI.

The easiest way is to create a "proxy": set of clear-C functions, these will call your c++ functions.
I think calling c++ function is not good idea: name decoration is changed from version to version of compiler.

Do you have this project hosted somewhere?
On the first view I would say that you need to build the c++ project first (only the c++!!!) and then run the C# project.
Perhaps you would like to have a look here: Testprojects
Especially the "MessageBox" stuff shows how to use C++ with C#. There are some Testprojects with UWP as well.

Related

Calling integer method works but string method return null when call DLL from C++ in C#

I am trying to implement a CLR concept on C++ and C#. I am create two simple method on C++.
this is test.cpp as main file
#include <iostream>
#include "test.h"
using namespace std;
string SayHi(){
return "hi";
}
int CallNumber(){
return 911;
}
This is test.h as header
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
#define EXPORT_API __declspec(dllexport)
extern "C" EXPORT_API string SayHi();
extern "C" EXPORT_API int CallNumber();
Then I compile them using
g++ -shared -o test.dll test.cpp
On my C# program, I try to call them
using System;
namespace Test.Main
{
class Program
{
[DllImport(#"test.dll")]
public static extern string SayHi();
[DllImport(#"test.dll")]
public static extern int CallNumber();
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine(SayHi());
Console.WriteLine(CallNumber());
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
This program show
`dDO↓☻
911
The 911 integer works perfectly but the string show weird thing. And that 'dDO↓☻ always change every time I run the C# program.
I am using
G++ version 9.4.0
.Net Framework 4.8
Is there something I miss here? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

How to write wrapper classes for mapping Qt Signals to C# events (through C++/CLI)

Calling C++/Qt classes through C++/CLI wrapper is a like a walk in the park.
But I'm stuck mapping C++/Qt signals to C# events.
I tried to combine some available how-tos/answers but did not get any working result:
How to map Qt Signal to Event in Managed C++ (C++/CLI)
Calling managed code from unmanaged code and vice-versa
and some other not so directly related...
The problem here is, that these how-tos/answers are quite old. I am currently working with Qt5.5 (soon 5.6) and .NET 4.6. I tried to adapt everything to current state of the art but may have failed.
It may be, that I can't see the forest because of too much trees, so I would like to ask for a working example which accomplishes the task with current framework versions, so that I can spot the differences and learn from the mistakes.
[edit]
You can checkout this github repo, for this source. The parts for QtSignal to C#Event are commented out to have this code in a working state.
Github repo: https://github.com/qwc/QtSignalToCSharpEvent
For those who still want to read everything without playing around... read on...
Here my current non-working code:
So I have a class in pure Qt5
#ifndef PUREQT_H
#define PUREQT_H
#include <QObject>
#include <QString>
#include "PureQt_global.h"
class PUREQTSHARED_EXPORT PureQt : public QObject {
Q_OBJECT
public:
PureQt(QString name);
~PureQt(){}
QString getSomeVar();
void someFunc(const QString & string);
public slots:
signals:
void someFuncWasCalled(const QString &string);
private:
QString someVar;
};
#endif // PUREQT_H
With the following rather simple implementation:
#include "PureQt.h"
PureQt::PureQt(QString name) {
this->someVar = "ctor("+name+")";
}
QString PureQt::getSomeVar() {
return this->someVar;
}
void PureQt::someFunc(const QString &string) {
this->someVar += "someFunc("+string+")";
emit someFuncWasCalled(this->someVar);
}
Then I've implemented a managed wrapper with C++/CLI to be able to call the unmanaged code from C#. Be aware that I've already tried to add code to get signal to event management.
#pragma once
#include "conversion.h"
#include "../pureqt/PureQt.h"
#include "SignalProxy.h"
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections::Generic;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;
namespace ManagedCppQtSpace {
// different variants... from tinkering around.
delegate void someFuncWasCalled(String^);
delegate void someFuncWasCalledU(QString str);
[StructLayoutAttribute(LayoutKind::Sequential)]
public ref struct DelegateWrapper {
[MarshalAsAttribute(UnmanagedType::FunctionPtr)]
someFuncWasCalledU^ delegate;
};
public ref class ManagedCppQt
{
public:
ManagedCppQt(String^ name){
pureQtObject = new PureQt(StringToQString(name));
proxy = new SignalProxy(pureQtObject);
wrapper = gcnew DelegateWrapper();
wrapper->delegate = gcnew someFuncWasCalledU(this, ManagedCppQt::signalCallback);
signalCallbackProxy callbackproxy;
Marshal::StructureToPtr(wrapper, callbackproxy, false); // currently im stuck here with a compile error, but the problem may lie somewhere else...
proxy->setCallback(callbackproxy);
};
~ManagedCppQt(){
delete pureQtObject;
};
event someFuncWasCalled ^ someFuncCalled;
void someFunc(String^ string){
pureQtObject->someFunc(StringToQString(string));
};
String^ getSomeString() {
return QStringToString(pureQtObject->getSomeVar());
}
void signalCallback(QString str) {
someFuncCalled(QStringToString(str));
}
DelegateWrapper ^ wrapper;
private:
PureQt * pureQtObject;
SignalProxy * proxy;
};
}
So to link signal and slot handling from Qt with a callback which is able to raise an event in managed code some will need a proxy class when there's no option to change the basis code (because it's also used in other unmanaged C++ projects).
#ifndef SIGNALPROXY_H
#define SIGNALPROXY_H
#include <QObject>
#include "../pureqt/PureQt.h"
typedef void (*signalCallbackProxy) (QString str);
class SignalProxy : public QObject
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
explicit SignalProxy(PureQt* pqt);
~SignalProxy();
void setCallback(signalCallbackProxy callback);
signals:
public slots:
void someFuncSlot(QString str);
private:
PureQt* pureQt;
signalCallbackProxy scallback;
};
#endif // SIGNALPROXY_H
With implementation:
#include "SignalProxy.h"
SignalProxy::SignalProxy(PureQt* pqt){
pureQt = pqt;
this->connect(pureQt, SIGNAL(PureQt::someFuncWasCalled(QString)), this, SLOT(someFuncSlot(QString)));
}
SignalProxy::~SignalProxy()
{}
void SignalProxy::setCallback(signalCallbackProxy callback){
this->scallback = callback;
}
void SignalProxy::someFuncSlot(QString str){
if(this->scallback != NULL)
this->scallback(str);
}
So. Now, how to correctly link these two worlds, Qt signals -> managed .NET events?
I've also tried some simple approaches, which lead to compile errors, like:
QObject::connect(pureQtObject, &PureQt::someFuncWasCalled, &MangagedCppQtSpace::ManagedCppQt::signalCallback);
instead of the proxy class, or with a lambda function:
QObject::connect(pureQtObject, &PureQt::someFuncWasCalled, [] (QString str) {
signalCallback(str);// or ManagedCppQt::signalCallback, but for this the method has to be static, and it isn't possible to raise events from static methods...
}
Problem here is mixing Qt with C++ CLI. To have functional signal and slots you Qt needs process header files to generate own meta data. Problem is that tool will be unable to understand C++CLI features.
To overcome this problem first you have to do fallback to C++ interfaces and there perform safely C++ CLI operations.
So you need extra class like this which doesn't know .net and creates bridge to standard C++:
class PureQtReceiverDelegate { // this should go to separate header file
virtual void NotifySomeFunc(const char *utf8) = 0;
};
class PureQtReceiver : public QObject {
Q_OBJECT
public:
PureQtReceiver(PureQtReceiverDelegate *delegate, PureQt *parent)
: QObject(parent)
, mDelegate(delegate)
{
bool ok = connect(parent, SIGNAL(PureQt::someFuncWasCalled(QString)),
this, SLOT(someFuncReceiver(QString)));
Q_ASSERT(ok);
}
public slots:
void someFuncReceiver(const QString & string)
{
delegate->NotifySomeFunc(string.toUtf8().data());
}
private:
PureQtReceiverDelegate *delegate;
};
Now your C++CLI class should implement this PureQtReceiverDelegate and there convert string to .net version and post notification.
Note you can/should forward declare Qt specific classes in C++CLI header file.
Above solution is good if you are using Qt4 od don't to use C++11.
If you are using Qt 5 and have C++11 available than there is more handy solution: you can use lambda expression in when making a connection to a QObject. So your ManagedCppQt can look like this:
header:
#pragma once
#include "conversion.h"
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections::Generic;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;
// forward declaration
class PureQt;
namespace ManagedCppQtSpace {
delegate void someFuncWasCalled(String^);
public ref class ManagedCppQt
{
public:
ManagedCppQt(String^ name);
~ManagedCppQt();
event someFuncWasCalled ^ someFuncCalled;
void someFunc(String^ string);
String^ getSomeString();
void signalCallback(QString str);
private:
PureQt * pureQtObject;
};
}
in cpp:
#include "../pureqt/PureQt.h"
using namespace ManagedCppQtSpace;
ManagedCppQt:ManagedCppQt(String^ name) {
pureQtObject = new PureQt(QStringFromString(name));
QObject::connect(pureQtObject, &PureQt::someFuncWasCalled,
[this](const QString &string){
if (this->someFuncCalled) {
String^ s = StringFromQString(string);
this->someFuncCalled(s);
}
});
}
ManagedCppQt::~ManagedCppQt(){
delete pureQtObject;
}
This is much easier, faster and easier to maintain.

SEHException with simple DLL

I am currently trying to use a simple C++ DLL in a C# program for a school project but I have trouble making the DLL and Program link with each other. When I try to call the DLL's function in the main program, I get a SEHExcpetion thrown from the DLL.
Here is the DLL code
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
extern "C"
{
__declspec(dllexport) string Crypter(string sIn)
{
return sIn+ " from DLL";
}
}
And here's the C# code
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
[DllImport("CryptoDLL2.dll")]
public static extern string Crypter(string sIn);
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void BTN_Crypter_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
TB_OUT.Text = ("");
TB_OUT.Text = Crypter(TB_IN.Text); //exception thrown here
}
}
}
Strings in C# and C++ - Those are completely different types, layouts, etc. And you expect them to work.
Check out char* with marshalling.
you cannot use std::string from C#, it is a c++ class, .NET does not know how to handle it.
Try using wchar_t* or BSTR.
I did a test to make sure the linking was fine, here is a sample app showing it does work.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
extern "C"
{
__declspec(dllexport) string Crypter(string sIn)
{
printf("test");
return "from DLL";
}
}
And
public class Test
{
[DllImport("TestDll.dll")]
public static extern string Crypter(string sIn);
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine(Crypter("a"));
}
}
This prints me out
test
followed by a newline.
You need to probably marshal the data from c++ to .net, or use a c++/clr managed dll which would make things easier on you.

Calling C# method within a Java program

C# methods cannot be called directly in Java using JNI due to different reasons. So first we have to write a wrapper for C# using C++ then create the dll and use it through JNI in Java.
I have problem in calling C# code in C++. I'm adding C# .netmodule file to a C++ project. Code is pasted below. Please guide me if i'm doing anything wrong.
This is my managed C++ class UsbSerialNum.h:
#using <mscorlib.dll>
#include <iostream>
#using "UsbSerialNumberCSharp.netmodule"
using namespace std;
using namespace System;
public __gc class UsbSerialNum
{
public:
UsbSerialNumberCSharp::UsbSerialNumberCSharp __gc *t;
UsbSerialNum() {
cout<<"Hello from C++";
t = new UsbSerialNumberCSharp::UsbSerialNumberCSharp();
}
void CallUsbSerialNumberCSharpHello() {
t->hello();
}
};
C# UsbSerialNumberCSharp.cs file from which i've created the .netmodule file:
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace UsbSerialNumberCSharp
{
public class UsbSerialNumberCSharp
{
public UsbSerialNumberCSharp(){
Console.WriteLine("hello");
}
public static void hello()
{
Console.WriteLine("hello");
}
public void helloCSharp ()
{
Console.WriteLine("helloCSharp");
}
}
}
Here is my main makeDLL.cpp file from which makeDLL.dll is created:
#include "jni.h"
#include <iostream>
// This is the java header created using the javah -jni command.
#include "testDLL.h"
// This is the Managed C++ header that contains the call to the C#
#include "UsbSerialNum.h"
using namespace std;
JNIEXPORT void JNICALL Java_testDLL_hello
(JNIEnv *, jobject) {
// Instantiate the MC++ class.
UsbSerialNum* serial = new UsbSerialNum();
serial->CallUsbSerialNumberCSharpHello();
}
Here is my java class:
public class testDLL {
static {
System.loadLibrary("makeDLL");
}
/**
* #param args
*/
public static void main (String[] args) {
// new testDLL().GetUSBDevices("SCR3", 100);
new testDLL().hello();
}
public native void hello();
}
EDIT:
If i simply ignore the call to UsbSerial.h in my main file i.e. use simple C++ then my code is working fine in Java. Basically C++ managed class is not working properly.
Please guide me. Thanks.
It would be useful to know what you need this interoperability for exactly. In any case, you should look into IKVM; alternatively you can (as has been suggested for a similar problem) use COM as a bridge: expose the C#/CLR as a COM interface and then use com4j in Java.
You can avoid C# and still can query WMI using C++ only. See Using WMI to call method on objects

Returning Struct from VC++ to C#

I have written a structure in VC++. I have made a dll of the VC++ code and calling this dll in C# using PInvoke.
The VC++ dll looks like this
#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <conio.h>
#include <tchar.h>
#include <iostream>
#if defined(_MSC_VER)
#include <windows.h>
#define DLL extern "C" __declspec(dllexport)
#else
#define DLL
#endif
struct SYSTEM_OUTPUT
{
int status;
};
DLL SYSTEM_OUTPUT* getStatus()
{
SYSTEM_OUTPUT* output;
output->status = 7;
return output;
}
I am calling the getStatus() function from the dll in my C# code, which looks as follows;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace UsingReturnStructDLL
{
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct SYSTEM_OUTPUT
{
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I4)]
int Status;
}
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public SYSTEM_OUTPUT output;
[DllImport("ReturnStructDLL", EntryPoint = "getStatus")]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Struct)]
public extern static SYSTEM_OUTPUT getStatus();
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
try
{
SYSTEM_OUTPUT output = getStatus();
}
catch (AccessViolationException e)
{
label1.Text = e.Message;
}
}
}
}
I want to retrieve the values in the struct in my C# code. With the above setup of my code, I am getting the following error;
Cannot marshal 'return value': Invalid managed/unmanaged type combination (Int32/UInt32
must be paired with I4, U4, or Error).
Can someone please help me with the issue?
Thanks.
Make your C++ code work first. It is junk as posted, you don't initialize the pointer. It will crash with an AccessViolation.
Returning pointers to structures is very hard to get right in C/C++ as well, the client of your code won't know how the memory needs to be released. Which plays havoc on the P/Invoke marshaller as well, it is going to try to release the pointer with CoTaskMemFree(). That's a kaboom on Vista and up, a memory leak on XP.
All of these problems disappear if you let the client pass a pointer to the structure as an argument:
void getStatus(SYSTEM_OUTPUT* buffer)
Which then in C# becomes:
[DllImport("mumble.dll")]
private static extern void getStatus(out SYSTEM_OUTPUT buffer);

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