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Call method from interface or abstract class within static void

I'm usually a javascript developer, but for my company I just started learning c# in order to use the CimatronE 13 API to develop custom command line PDM tools for this 3D modelling software.
As I'm making progress understanding the programming language, there's this frustrating situation where I want to use an API endpoint method but I can't manage to get it working.
The Cimatron documentation says the following:
IPdm::GetRelatedDocuments
Syntax: RelatedDocuments = GetRelatedDocuments ( DocumentPath );
This method allows you to get related files from compound types of files, for example Assembly or Drawing.
Input: (String) DocumentPath,
Path to file. For example \Documents\Location\Folder\Document. The file must be Assembly or Drawing.
Return: (Variant) RelatedDocuments,
Variant type array each element of which contain two dimensioned string type array of files related to selected one.
This looks pretty straight forward to me, so I tried calling it in multiple ways from within the static void Main() method, but I keep getting errors:
var RelatedDocuments = interop.CimBaseAPI.IPdm.GetRelatedDocuments("path");
CS0120: An object reference is required for the non-static field, method, or property 'IPdm.GetRelatedDocuments(string)'
interop.CimBaseAPI.IPdm pdm = new interop.CimBaseAPI.IPdm();
var RelatedDocuments = pdm.GetRelatedDocuments("path");
CS0144: Cannot create an instance of the abstract class or interface 'IPdm'
Any ideas? It's probably simple but I'm still a noob with c# :p
EDIT:
Cimatron documentation about the interface interop.CimBaseAPI.IPdm:
Properties:
Get
Query (String, DocumentEnumType, DocumentEnumUnit )
Variant
Methods:
A lot, including Variant GetRelatedDocuments ( String )

As how I see it now... interop.CimatronE.IPdm is an interface and in order to use it's methods, we first need access to the Cimatron application. Using the application object, we can use it's methods to get the desired interfaces such as IPdm and use their methods.
The following code gives no errors from the compiler but does when executing. This seems to be related to version 13 of CimatronE, since the application object works just fine using version 12. A lot has changed between these versions which I think is the reason the API is not functioning properly, outdated.
interop.CimAppAccess.AppAccess AppAcc = new interop.CimAppAccess.AppAccess();
interop.CimatronE.IApplication CimApp = /*(interop.CimatronE.IApplication)*/AppAcc.GetApplication();
interop.CimatronE.IPdm pdm = CimApp.GetPdm();
var RelatedDocuments = pdm.GetRelatedDocuments("path");
Console.WriteLine(RelatedDocuments);
Please correct me if I'm wrong! (since I just started and still learning c#)

I ran into this same issue with Cimatron 14.
I needed to make some changes in Visual Studio for things run properly with Cimatron.
Run Visual Studio in administrator mode
Set your Debug & Release Solution Platform to 'x64'
It was also recommended to point the build path for release & debug to the same folder as the Cimatron references. In my case 'C:\Program Files\3D Systems\Cimatron\14.0\Program'. However my code appears to run fine without this.
I created the Cimatron Application with this code (VB.Net):
Dim gAppAccess As New CIMAPPACCESSLib.AppAccess 'Define an AppAccess object to get running active application
Dim gApp As CIMAPPACCESSLib.Application 'Define an Application object
gApp = gAppAccess.GetApplication 'Getting running active application
If gApp Is Nothing Then
gApp = New CIMAPPACCESSLib.Application 'Creating a new instance of a Cimatron application
End If
References: Interop.CIMAPPACCESSLib.dll & interop.CimServicesAPI.dll
It is my understanding that Cimatron 15 may also requires some manifest changes.
There is some help information in the Cimatron program under Cimatrom Modules > Cimaton SDK that may be mildly helpful.

Executable fails with weird exception

I am using ILMerge and Quartz.NET in a C# .NET 4.0 Windows Service application. The app runs fine without using ILMerge, but now that we're nearing shipping release, I wanted to combine all DLLs into a single executable.
Problem is, that ILMerge seems to work fine, but when I run the combined executable, it throws this exception:
Unhandled Exception: Quartz.SchedulerException: ThreadPool type 'Quartz.Simpl.SimpleThreadPool' could not be instantiated. ---> System.InvalidCastException: Unable to cast object of type 'Quartz.Simpl.SimpleThreadPool' to type 'Quartz.Spi.IThreadPool'.
at Quartz.Util.ObjectUtils.InstantiateType[T](Type type) in :line 0
at Quartz.Impl.StdSchedulerFactory.Instantiate() in :line 0
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at Quartz.Impl.StdSchedulerFactory.Instantiate() in :line 0
at Quartz.Impl.StdSchedulerFactory.GetScheduler() in :line 0
Does anyone have any idea why this is? I have been wasting over 4 hours already and I can't figure it out. If I don't combine with ILMerge, then everything runs fine (with the Quartz.dll and Common.Logging.dll in the same directory).
I'm sure someone must have tried packaging Quartz.net up like this before, any ideas?

Disclaimer: I don't know Quartz.NET at all, although I spent some time struggling with ILMerge. When I finally understood its limitations... I stopped using it.
ILMerge'd application tends to have problems with everything which contains the word "reflection".
I can guess (I've never used Quartz.NET) that some classes are resolved using reflection and driven by configuration files.
Class is not only identified by its name (with namespace) but also by assembly it is coming from (unfortunatelly it doesn't get displayed in exception message).
So, let's assume you had (before ILMerging) two assemblies A (for you Application) and Q (for Quartz.NET).
Assembly 'A' was referencing assembly 'Q' and was using a class 'Q:QClass' which was implementing 'Q:QIntf'.
After merging, those classes became 'A:QClass' and 'A:QIntf' (they were moved from assembly Q to A) and all the references in code has been replaced to use those (completely) new classes/interfaces, so "A:QClass" is implementing "A:QIntf" now.
But, it did not change any config files/embedded strings which may still reference "Q:QClass".
So when application is reading those not-updated config files it still loads "Q:QClass" (why it CAN find it is a different question, maybe you left assembly 'Q' in current folder or maybe it is in GAC - see 1).
Anyway, "Q:QClass" DOES NOT implement "A:QIntf", it still implements "Q:QIntf" even if they are binary identical - so you can't cast 'Q:QClass' to 'A:QIntf'.
The not-ideal-but-working solution is to "embed" assemblies instead of "merging" them. I wrote a open-source tool which does it (embedding instead of merging) but it is not related to this question. So if you decide to embed just ask me.
You can test it by removing (hiding, whatever works for you) every single instance of Q.dll on your PC. If I'm right, the exception should say now 'FileNotFound'.

You could try creating your own ISchedulerFactory and avoid using reflection to load all of your types.
The StdSchedulerFactory uses this code to creat a threadpool. It's where your error is happening and would be the place to start looking at making changes:
Type tpType = loadHelper.LoadType(cfg.GetStringProperty(PropertyThreadPoolType)) ?? typeof(SimpleThreadPool);
try
{
tp = ObjectUtils.InstantiateType<IThreadPool>(tpType);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
initException = new SchedulerException("ThreadPool type '{0}' could not be instantiated.".FormatInvariant(tpType), e);
throw initException;
}
The ObjectUtils.InstantiateType method that is called is this one, and the last line is the one throwing your exception:
public static T InstantiateType<T>(Type type)
{
if (type == null)
{
throw new ArgumentNullException("type", "Cannot instantiate null");
}
ConstructorInfo ci = type.GetConstructor(Type.EmptyTypes);
if (ci == null)
{
throw new ArgumentException("Cannot instantiate type which has no empty constructor", type.Name);
}
return (T) ci.Invoke(new object[0]);
}
Right after this section in the factory, datasources are loaded using the same pattern and then the jobs themselves are also loaded dynamically which means you'd also have to write your own JobFactory. Since Quartz.Net loads a bunch of bits and pieces dynamically at runtime going down this road means you might end up rewriting a fair amount of things.

Is it possible to use Gephi compiled with IKVM in a website?

I'm currently trying to load and use the Gephi Toolkit from within a .Net 4 C# website.
I have a version of the toolkit jar file compiled against the IKVM virtual machine, which works as expected from a command line application using the following code:
var controller = (ProjectController)Lookup.getDefault().lookup(typeof(ProjectController));
controller.closeCurrentProject();
controller.newProject();
var project = controller.getCurrentProject();
var workspace = controller.getCurrentWorkspace();
The three instances are correctly instantiated in a form similar to org.gephi.project.impl.ProjectControllerImpl#8ddb93.
If however I run the exact same code, with the exact same using statements & references, the very first line loading the ProjectController instance returns null.
I have tried a couple of solutions
Firstly, I have tried ignoring the Lookup.getDefault().lookup(type) call, instead trying to create my own instances:
var controller = new ProjectControllerImpl();
controller.closeCurrentProject();
controller.newProject();
var project = controller.getCurrentProject();
var workspace = controller.getCurrentWorkspace();
This fails at the line controller.newProject();, I think because internally (using reflector) the same Lookup.getDefault().lookup(type) is used in a constructor, returns null and then throws an exception.
Secondly, from here: Lookup in Jython (and Gephi) I have tried to set the %CLASSPATH% to the location of both the toolkit JAR and DLL files.
Is there a reason why the Lookup.getDefault().lookup(type) would not work in a web environment? I'm not a Java developer, so I am a bit out of my depth with the Java side of this.
I would have thought it possible to create all of the instances myself, but haven't been able to find a way to do so.
I also cannot find a way of seeing why the ProjectController load returned null. No exception is thrown, and unless I'm being very dumb, there doesn't appear to be a method to see the result of the attempted load.
Update - Answer
Based on the answer from Jeroen Frijters, I resolved the issue like this:
public class Global : System.Web.HttpApplication
{
public Global()
{
var assembly = Assembly.LoadFrom(Path.Combine(root, "gephi-toolkit.dll"));
var acl = new AssemblyClassLoader(assembly);
java.lang.Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(new MySystemClassLoader(acl));
}
}
internal class MySystemClassLoader : ClassLoader
{
public MySystemClassLoader(ClassLoader parent)
: base(new AppDomainAssemblyClassLoader(typeof(MySystemClassLoader).Assembly))
{ }
}
The code ikvm.runtime.Startup.addBootClassPathAssemby() didn't seem to work for me, but from the provided link, I was able to find a solution that seems to work in all instances.

This is a Java class loader issue. In a command line app your main executable functions as the system class loader and knows how to load assembly dependencies, but in a web process there is no main executable so that system class loader doesn't know how to load anything useful.
One of the solutions is to call ikvm.runtime.Startup.addBootClassPathAssemby() to add the relevant assemblies to the boot class loader.
For more on IKVM class loading issues see http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ikvm/index.php?title=ClassLoader

Determining interop function caller

I'm exposing a C# class to COM using these attributes:
[ComVisible(true)]
[ClassInterface(ClassInterfaceType.AutoDual)]
[GuidAttribute("2325EBEB-DB5F-4D29-B220-64845379D9C5")]
[ComSourceInterfaces(typeof(WrapperEvents))]
in this class I have a function:
public void shutdownService()
This function is meant to be called just once from a VB6 client via COM Interop. Everything works fine. But somehow, it's being called more than once. My C# codes doesn't call this function directly. So I'm guessing the problem is in VB6 code. Unfortunately, that's not what the VB6 team thinks.
Is there a way to determine the caller of this function, ie. from my C#code or the VB6 code?
Right now I'm using a simple function to get the stacktrace:
public void LogStack()
{
var trace = new System.Diagnostics.StackTrace();
foreach (var frame in trace.GetFrames())
{
var method = frame.GetMethod();
if (method.Name.Equals("LogStack")) continue;
logger.Debug(string.Format("LogStack: {0}::{1}",
method.ReflectedType != null ? method.ReflectedType.Name : string.Empty, method.Name));
}
}
Obviously, I got somthing like this on the log:
2011-12-23 08:28:40,067 1 DEBUG (null) LogStack: Service::shutdownService
Since the only line of LogStack is the COM exposed function, I assume it's being called from vb6. But that's not enough proof for the VB6 team. Any idea how to really prove where function ?

You can try several things:
set a breakpoint in your code to trigger the debugger, then look at the call stack.
You could do an application dump here from visual studio and send it to them or screenshot the stack.
ex. Debugger.Break
http://www.netsplore.com/PublicPortal/blog.aspx?EntryID=12
Dump with "Savre Dump As"
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/d5zhxt22.aspx
Use the com tracing
from a system level see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926098
I also recall a tool being installed with visual studio 6 do to this as well

How do I use the Mono.CSharp interpreter in Microsoft.NET

I was under the impression Mono's compiler was usable in Microsoft.NET
edit: updated blog posting here that I originally missed that explains some of it (is consistent with Justin's answers)
I created a simple class to try to use it
[TestFixture]
class Class1
{
[Test]
public void EXPR()
{
Evaluator.Run("using System;");
int sum = (int)Evaluator.Evaluate("1+2");
}
}
And a project in Visual Studio 2010 that references C:\Program Files (x86)\Mono-2.10.1\lib\mono\4.0\Mono.CSharp.dll.
However when I try to run this task I get the following exception, thrown at the Evaluator.Run call:
System.TypeInitializationException was unhandled by user code
Message=The type initializer for 'Mono.CSharp.Evaluator' threw an exception.
Source=Mono.CSharp
TypeName=Mono.CSharp.Evaluator
StackTrace:
at Mono.CSharp.Evaluator.Run(String statement)
at Experiments.Class1.EXPR() in W:\Experiments\Class1.cs:line 16
InnerException: System.TypeLoadException
Message=Method 'Mono.CSharp.Location.ToString()' is security transparent, but is a member of a security critical type.
Source=Mono.CSharp
TypeName=Mono.CSharp.Location.ToString()
StackTrace:
at Mono.CSharp.Evaluator..cctor()
InnerException:
A google confirms one other person asking this question but no answer. I tried to start reading the microsoft article on security transparent code but got confused quite quickly. Would someone be able to suggest a quick workaround to allow me to use this? And possibly summarise the security implications, if any, to me (in the context of my situation - in the future I hope to package it with a thick client application, to be used both internally and by end-users)

It has worked under .NET since April of last year.
Small point but I notice you are missing a semi-colon in your expression for sum.
int sum = (int)Evaluator.Evaluate("1+2;");
I only have Mono 2.11 (from git) at the moment and they have changed to using a multi-instance version of the compiler instead of the static version. So, my code looks a little different:
using System;
using Mono.CSharp;
namespace REPLtest
{
class MainClass
{
public static void Main (string[] args)
{
var r = new Report (new ConsoleReportPrinter ());
var cmd = new CommandLineParser (r);
var settings = cmd.ParseArguments (args);
if (settings == null || r.Errors > 0)
Environment.Exit (1);
var evaluator = new Evaluator (settings, r);
evaluator.Run("using System;");
int sum = (int) evaluator.Evaluate("1+2;");
Console.WriteLine ("The sum of 1 + 2 is {0}", sum);
}
}
}
EDIT: I guess I should confirm that I did in fact successfully execute this on .NET 4 (using Visual C# Express 2010 on Windows XP)
EDIT AGAIN: If you have Visual Studio, you can download the latest version of Mono.CSharp and compile it yourself. There is a .sln (solution file) included with the source so you can build it on Windows without Mono. The resulting assembly would run the code above. Miguel has a post explaining the new Mono.CSharp here.
FINAL EDIT: I uploaded the compiled Mono.CSharp.dll assembly that I actually used here. Include it as a reference to compile the code above.

It looks like this is a bug in Mono.
.NET 4 abandoned Code Access Security but kept the concept of Security Transparent Code. In a nutshell, low-level code that does stuff, like call unmanaged code, must be "security critical". Application level code is marked "transparent". "Transparent" code cannot call into "security critical" code.
It sounds like Mono.CSharp.Location.ToString() needs to be marked with the [SecuritySafeCritical] attribute if you want the Mono 2.10 code to work with .NET 4. Maybe even better would be marking all of Mono.CSharp as SecuritySafeCritical.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.security.securitycriticalattribute.aspx
PS. Sorry to have multiple answers for one question. After I realized that 2.11 would work, I became more curious about what the error with 2.10 meant. I cannot really combine this answer with the others.

I decided I should have kept the code more like the question but I did not want to overwrite my previous answer:
The code below works with version 2.11 of Mono.CSharp (available here including a solution file for building with Visual Studio/.NET). It was tested with .NET 4 on Windows XP. I do not have access to Mono 2.10 at the moment.
[TestFixture]
class Class1
{
private Evaluator evaluator;
public Class1()
{
var report = new Report(new ConsoleReportPrinter());
evaluator = new Evaluator(new CompilerSettings(), report);
}
[Test]
public void EXPR()
{
evaluator.Run("using System;");
int sum = (int)evaluator.Evaluate("1+2;");
}
}
EDIT: I uploaded the Mono.CSharp.dll assembly that I actually used here. Include it as a reference to compile the code above.