I'm new to linux and mono. I installed mono to a new Raspberry Pi machine using
sudo apt-get install mono-complete.
I also did the update and upgrade using apt-get.
I then followed the helloWorld examples in the Mono Basics page in mono-project website:
http://www.mono-project.com/docs/getting-started/mono-basics/
I managed to build and run the first 'Console Hello World' example using the following:
mcs hello.cs
mono hello.exe
However, when I tried the next example 'Winforms Hello World', I encountered the following error when running 'mcs hello.cs -pkg:dotnet':
error CS0006: Metadata file 'cscompmgd.dll' could not be found
However, it works if i use gmcs instead of mcs.
I googled here and there but no luck.
I can find a link to this file 'cscompmgd.dll' in '/usr/lib/mono/2.0' directory in my Raspberry Pi.
The installed mono version is 3.2.8 (returned by using 'mono --version').
Does anyone know why it works with gmcs but it doesn't work with mcs?
Thank you.
Solved by adding the -lib: option like this:
mcs helloWinforms.cs -pkg:dotnet -lib:/usr/lib/mono/2.0
Solution with adding
-lib:/usr/lib/mono/2.0
was not the best in my case (it broke a dependency on some 4.0 elements, specifically 'System.Threading').
Dirty, but works
Another, very dirty solution is to copy the
/usr/lib/mono/2.0/cscompmgd.dll
to your project folder (or wherever the Makefile is) and add
-r:cscompmgd.dll
when compiling (or add the filename after list of other included libraries specified by '-r').
There is probably a way to do that without copying the file, but that is beyond my capabilities.
So you end up with:
mcs helloWinforms.cs -pkg:dotnet -r:cscompmgd.dll
I wrote a simple Hello World program in C# using Visual Studio 2013. I tried to compile it on the command line in Linux using:
mono --aot test.cs
However when I do that, I get the error:
Cannot open assembly 'test.cs': File does not contain a valid CIL image.
The file is just a typical C# console application using the default template that Visual Studio gives you.
You should use gmcs in order to compile your code, and mono to execute the interpreter, as one use javac and java commands.
You may reread the mono basics:
Let's say you have a C# file with the following code:
using System;
public class HelloWorld
{
static public void Main ()
{
Console.WriteLine ("Hello Mono World");
}
}
Compiling within the shell:
gmcs hello.cs
Executing it from the shell:
mono hello.exe
My goal: Writing some C#-code, compile it, and run it at the target server (Apache Web Server, OS: Debian GNU/Linux 32bit) using PHP-command passthru("newfile",...).
Now: Based on the advice I got here I did compile my C#-code with Mono and did create a 32bit Linux-executable file (on my Ubuntu 11.10 32bit system) using
mkbundle -o newfile oldfile.exe --static
However, when calling this newfile via PHP it doesn't give the expected return value "Hello World", but the number 1.
Questions: Am I using mkbundle wrongly? How can I find out where the problem lies?
Additional info: Writing file newfile on the target system gives
newfile: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.6.15, not stripped
My C#-code is a simple Hello-World program printing Hello World into the console. The PhP command I use is <?php passthru("./newfile", $temp); echo "$temp"; ?>
The return value I get from this PhP-file is simply 1. The Apache log files show no error.
On my Windows 7 workstation, I have a variety of compilers installed - including MSVC9 and MSVC10. I recently noticed the following strange problem which only occurs in my MSVC10 environment.
In my MSVC9 shell (I use the one from the start menu), running csc.exe shows that it's using the C# 2008 compiler version 3.5.30729.4926 (.NET 3.5). In the MSVC10 shell, it's compiler version 4.0.30128.1. Now, the following little sample program builds with csc.exe as of MSVC9, but it fails with MSVC10:
using System;
using System.Windows.Automation;
namespace UIAutomationTest
{
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
}
}
}
I use the following command line (with MSVC9 as well as MSVC10) to build the program:
csc Hello.cs /r:UIAutomationClient.dll /nologo
With MSVC9, this succeeds (no output is printed and Hello.exe is built). With MSVC10, the build fails with this error message:
C:\src>csc Hello.cs /r:UIAutomationClient.dll /nologo
error CS0006: Metadata file 'UIAutomationClient.dll' could not be found
Does anybody know why that is?
UPDATE: I noticed that I can make the build work with MSVC10 if I modify the command line so that /r:UIAutomationClient.dll becomes /r:WPF\UIAutomationClient.dll.
Where is this UIAutomationClient.dll file located relative to your cs files?
Try passing the full path of UIAutomationClient.dll.
How do you compile and execute a .cs file from a command-prompt window?
CSC.exe is the CSharp compiler included in the .NET Framework and can be used to compile from the command prompt. The output can be an executable ".exe", if you use "/target:exe", or a DLL; If you use /target:library, CSC.exe is found in the .NET Framework directory,
e.g. for .NET 3.5, c:\windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\.
To run, first, open a command prompt, click "Start", then type cmd.exe.
You may then have to cd into the directory that holds your source files.
Run the C# compiler like this:
c:\windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\bin\csc.exe
/t:exe /out:MyApplication.exe MyApplication.cs ...
(all on one line)
If you have more than one source module to be compiled, you can put it on that same command line. If you have other assemblies to reference, use /r:AssemblyName.dll .
Ensure you have a static Main() method defined in one of your classes, to act as the "entry point".
To run the resulting EXE, type MyApplication, followed by <ENTER> using the command prompt.
This article on MSDN goes into more detail on the options for the command-line compiler. You can embed resources, set icons, sign assemblies - everything you could do within Visual Studio.
If you have Visual Studio installed, in the "Start menu"; under Visual Studio Tools, you can open a "Visual Studio command prompt", that will set up all required environment and path variables for command line compilation.
While it's very handy to know of this, you should combine it with knowledge of some sort of build tool such as NAnt, MSBuild, FinalBuilder etc. These tools provide a complete build environment, not just the basic compiler.
On a Mac
On a Mac, syntax is similar, only C sharp Compiler is just named csc:
$ csc /target:exe /out:MyApplication.exe MyApplication.cs ...
Then to run it :
$ mono MyApplication.exe
Another way to compile C# programs (without using Visual Studio or without having it installed)
is to create a user variable in environment variables, namely "PATH".
Copy the following path in this variable:
"C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319"
or depending upon which .NET your PC have.
So you don't have to mention the whole path every time you compile a code.
Simply use
"C:\Users\UserName\Desktop>csc [options] filename.cs"
or wherever the path of your code is.
Now you are good to go.
You can compile a C# program :
c: > csc Hello.cs
You can run the program
c: > Hello
For the latest version, first open a Powershell window, go to any folder (e.g. c:\projects\) and run the following
# Get nuget.exe command line
wget https://dist.nuget.org/win-x86-commandline/latest/nuget.exe -OutFile nuget.exe
# Download the C# Roslyn compiler (just a few megs, no need to 'install')
.\nuget.exe install Microsoft.Net.Compilers
# Compiler, meet code
.\Microsoft.Net.Compilers.1.3.2\tools\csc.exe .\HelloWorld.cs
# Run it
.\HelloWorld.exe
An example HelloWorld.cs
using System;
public class HelloWorld {
public static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello world!");
}
}
You can also try the new C# interpreter ;)
.\Microsoft.Net.Compilers.1.3.2\tools\csi.exe
> Console.WriteLine("Hello world!");
Hello world!
While it is definitely a good thing knowing how to build at the command line, for most work it might be easier to use an IDE. The C# express edition is free and very good for the money ;-p
Alternatively, things like snippy can be used to run fragments of C# code.
Finally - note that the command line is implementation specific; for MS, it is csc; for mono, it is gmcs and friends.... Likewise, to execute: it is just "exename" for the MS version, but typically "mono exename" for mono.
Finally, many projects are build with build script tools; MSBuild, NAnt, etc.
Here is how to install MSBuild with standalone C# 7.0 compiler which is no longer bundled in the latest .Net Framework 4.7:
Is it possible to install a C# compiler without Visual Studio?
Then just run
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\BuildTools\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\Roslyn\csc.exe" MyApplication.cs
to compile single source file to executable.
Also note that .Net Core doesn't support compiling single source file without preconfigured project.
Add to path
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5
To Compile:
csc file.cs
To Execute:
file
PowerShell can execute C# code out of the box.
One liner to compile & execute a file:
(Add-Type -Path "Program.cs" -PassThru)::Main() #'Main' is the entry point
Supposed you have a .cs file like this:
using System;
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello from C#");
}
}
You can build your class files within the VS Command prompt (so that all required environment variables are loaded), not the default Windows command window.
To know more about command line building with csc.exe (the compiler), see this article.
In Windows systems, use the command csc <filname>.cs in the command prompt while the current directory is in Microsoft Visual Studio<Year><Version>
There are two ways:
Using the command prompt:
Start --> Command Prompt
Change the directory to Visual Studio folder, using the command: cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\ <Version>
Use the command: csc /.cs
Using Developer Command Prompt :
Start --> Developer Command Prompt for VS 2017
(Here the directory is already set to Visual Studio folder)
Use the command: csc /.cs
Once you write the c# code and save it. You can use the command prompt to execute it just like the other code.
In command prompt you enter the directory your file is in and type
To Compile:
mcs yourfilename.cs
To Execute:
mono yourfilename.exe
if you want your .exe file to be different with a different name, type
To Compile:
mcs yourfilename.cs -out:anyname.exe
To Execute:
mono anyname.exe
This should help!
If you have installed Visual Studio then you have Developer Command Prompt for VS. You can easily build your program using csc command and run your application with the name of the application inside the developer command prompt.
You can open Developer command prompt as given below.
Start => Developer Command Prompt for VS
Hope this helps!
I found a simple way to do this if you have the correct system and environmental variables set up and your path is properly configured.
you just need to run in the directory of the project
dotnet new console --> this will generate the required files such as the .csproj. it will also generate a Program.cs file which it automatically uses as the entry point, if you have other files with your static Main method you can remove this file and it should find the Main entry point automatically.
then all you need to do to run is
dotnet run and it should compile and run automatically
this was how i managed to get my projects working in vs code using gitbash as my terminal. Also I have VS 2019 installed, i used the .net 5.0 framework from this as my system variables. This was the simplest solution i found for basic console programs. It also allows you to add custom imports in your .csproj file
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Professional\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\Roslyn
this is where you can find the c# compiler that supports c#7 otherwise it will use the .net 4 compilers which supports only c# 5
# File : csharp.ps1
# Purpose : Powershell Script to compile a csharp console application from powershell prompt
try {
# CSharp Compiler
#$csc = "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\bin\csc.exe"
$csc = "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\csc.exe"
# NOTE: if this path doesn't work search Framework folder for csc.exe
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
if ($args.Count -eq 0) {
write-host "`nUSAGE: csharp.ps1 (console_application.cs)"
exit 1
}
$file = $args[0];
if (-not(test-path $file)) {
throw "file doesn't exist: $file"
}
$cmd = "$csc /nologo /t:exe /out:${file}.exe $file"
write-host -ForegroundColor Green "`nx: $cmd"
invoke-expression $cmd
}
catch {
write-host -ForegroundColor Red "`nEXCEPTION: $_"
}
finally {
write-host ""
}
// File: helloworld.cs
using System;
namespace MyProgram
{
class Program
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.Write("Hello World...");
Console.ReadKey(true);
}
}
}
PS> .\csharp.ps1 helloworld.cs
Search "Path" in windows
Select "Edit the system environment.."
Click on "Environment Variable" right bottom
Double Click on Path in Variable Section
Click on
New and add the path (you Want to add)
Click Okay Okay Okay
for me to run csc from command Prompt
Added this "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319" to path
then open command prompt where my file is located, and ran this
PS C:\Users\UserName\Downloads\Mouse> csc.exe Mouse.cs
dotnet
This is oooold. But since this is where you end up as a beginner when you ask questions to understand how to use C# like C or C++ in a console using compilers without Visual Studio CE (highly recommended for C# btw if you aren't already using it) you end up getting more confused within the lingo of .NET framework and libraries and SDKs.
If someone like you stumbles upon my answer as a complete beginner:
1. Understand the difference between Framework and SDK.
2. Understand what C# is and what .NET is.
3. THIS: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/learn/dotnet/hello-world-tutorial/intro
You'll pick up the rest along the way.
But instead of using framework I suggest using the SDK and mostly sticking to VS. As for me, I learned C# for unity and mostly game dev.
Also Google is your friend. Ask Questions, stay curious.