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I am currently writing some code and I am wondering if it would be possible to execute some C# code from my application. I'll give you an idea, lets say I want to give the user a textbox and have them type some code and hit go, I want them to ask for a list of fruit and then go through each fruit and output it.. an example:

var fruitList = getFruit();
foreach(var fruit in fruitList)
{
   print(fruit.Name);
}

I would like to be able to go through this and assign a list of Fruit objects to fruitList, the parser should be able to tie up getFruit() to a method I've written in the c# code. The same goes for print, it should equate this to a print function I've written that outputs it to a textbox.

Now I know that C# isn't a script, it is compiled, and I've done a lot of Googling but can't really find anything. My only option to me appears to be to write a little language parser myself - which sounds fun - but I've done this before and I know it's hard work. So this is just a preliminary check to see if some solution does exist before I commit to the long haul.

So, my fellow programmers, do you know of anything that may be able to assist me?

If not, no problem, I appreciate all feedback whether it's tips, advice, links to articles such as this http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ericwhite/archive/2010/06/29/writing-a-recursive-descent-parser-using-c-and-linq.aspx or a solution.

Regards,
Adam

EDIT: I have managed to get a working example. Note this code is a bit messy as I've pasted some other code in to the test app, but it works. Basically, I compile the code into a DLL, then I load the DLL, find the type, find the method, and invoke it. It's pretty damn quick too! I don't want to spam you so the full code is below:

http://imdsm.blogspot.com/2012/01/compile-c-into-assembly-then-load-it.html

Thank you to everyone who posted here. You just saved me days of confusion!

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4 Answers 4

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3

You mean like in this screenshot here?

We use this in our software, HeuristicLab, you can add a ProgrammableOperator into an operator graph which will execute the code that you typed in at the place that you typed it in a custom-built algorithm.

In the System.CodeDom namespace you've got all you need to dynamically compile code. You can create an assembly from the compilation, get the assembly's types and execute their code.

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I think the new compiler project of microsoft is what you are looking for. With it you can run C# as were a script indeed.

Project "Roslyn"

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4 Comments

Thanks, I'm taking a look now. Cheers
And welcome to stackoverflow by the way! If you like an answer you can upvote it to give the person credit (reputation). If it is THE answer to your question you can also accept it as answer to let others know that it was the right answer and give the person who gave the answer reputation.
Thanks @SynerCoder, I have been a lurker for years, stackoverflow has saved my skin so many times I've lost count. As with everything, it became my turn to join the community and add to the content. Thanks for the welcome!
You can use host code in the Roslyn compiler. msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/hh543925 You can create your own scripting api for your host code as I understand it. But like @munissor said.. It is still CTP status
1

Have a look if Roslyn can help , it's still in CTP status.

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4 Comments

Thanks, I saw this on the bottom of a list somewhere but wasn't sure if it was right to do the job. I'll take a look and see if it is.
@AdamKDean: Roslyn will be able to help with C# and VB script scenarios, but it is not really ready for prime time yet. Bill posted in October some preliminary documents about our plans here: social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/roslyn/thread/…. If you want to evaluate it and give us feedback on the sorts of problems you face in this area, please feel free to leave feedback on Bill's post. Thanks!
@EricLippert the guest code (editable) needs to be able to call methods/access variables from the host code and function like it is it's own class. Would it be possible to some how compile the code into a library and dynamically load it and call a generic method? Example: pastebin.com/ATP6ri6R If I could insert the code into the template, and then compile it and turn that into a Guest object, then that would be great. Possible?
@AdamKDean: That would be a great question for the Roslyn forum. I am not an expert on the scripting API part of Roslyn; I work pretty much only on the semantic analyzer.
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You can use the CSharpCodeProvider

Or you could use a scripting language and run the interpreter in your application Ex IronRuby

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2 Comments

Interesting indeed - not entirely sure it is the right solution, unless maybe I generate the rest of the code and add that to the compilation - still, I'd be worrying about the execution time on this one. But thanks for the link!
CSharpCodeProvider will be very fast, as the cost of compilation is incurred only once. A-la IronRuby should also be fine once it's loaded, but it's a whole scripting environment + you get the usual runtimes of scripts in these languages.

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