When I was reading about DLLs on StackOverflow I came accross the word "Native DLLs" a lot of times. I found questions regarding them but I couldn't understand what a "Native DLL" actually is.
What is a native DLL?
Native DLL's are usually DLL's containing raw processor directly-executable code (such as that found in the Win32 API's) as opposed to, for example, managed (MSIL) which contain code that is consumed and JIT compiled to native processor instructions by a runtime such as the .NET CLR.
In .NET it is also possible to create mixed-mode DLL's that contain both native binary code and managed code.
this term came out when managed code that comes from .net assemblies was invented, to distinguish between managed and unmanaged =native code.
every .net assembly gets "nativied" by the JIT-compiler during execution. this means it gets translated to asm code that is "natively" understandable to the CPU.
The term native DLL was originally used before managed code existed. It was originally intended to refer to DLLs that are not COM DLLs. It is intended to refer to DLLs like the ones in Windows originally.
Note that Kev said "In .NET it is also possible to create mixed-mode DLL's that contain both native binary code and managed code." but that is not relevant; such a DLL is not a native DLL because it has CLI (.Net) metadata. Also, mixed-mode DLL's can only be developed using C++/CLI; no other language supports it.
See my article Native Windows Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) for more.
From what I understand a "Native DLL" will be a basic Win32 dll for example. A DLL that contains non managed code.
With .NET you write Managed assemblies. These will call the base level Windows code which is the same that a non-managed application will call.
A quick look through these MSDN search results will answer your question:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Search/en-US?query=define:%20native%20dll&ac=8
It's simple a DLL that contains machine code, rather than MSIL.
Related
Is there any way, I can prevent my c++ cli project from being decompiled if someone uses a C# decompiler, because I tried to decompile the .exe i made in ILSpy and it showed my whole code, so is there any way I can prevent this?
Thanks
as ancient as this thread is, I ran across it with the same question, and a newish answer. Can't specify the minimum version for this one, but
[module:System::Runtime::CompilerServices::SuppressIldasmAttribute];
on top of each .cpp module did the trick for me:
I didn't investigate much further, yet.
Another useful thing is to add
#pragma unmanaged
to each .cpp that does not contain .net code.
You can
Use a .NET obfuscator.
Or
Only use C++CLI for the boundaries of your app which require to Interact with .NET. And implement your logic in a native C++ library.
I am writing a dll in native code (C++) that is to be consumed by other native C++ applications.
One of the tasks of the dll is to perform XML file operations. C++ has poor support in dealing with XML files, e.g searching, writing, reading, as far as I know.
So, I am thinking if I can compile my dll code in clr:mixed mode and use the .NET XML assembly to do the XML related stuff. However, I still want my dll to be consumed by native C++ applications without any added hassles.
Will this approach work ? Any caveats to this ? Btw, is there any other XML library for C++ besides XMLlite ?
What's the best way to use ImageMagick in MonoTouch?
Adding the ImageMagickNET lib seems to produce errors during runtime, such as:
Method
'Module:CrtImplementationDetails.DoDllLanguageSupportValidation
()' in assembly
'/ImageMagickNET/bin/ReleaseQ8/ImageMagickNET.dll'
contains native code that cannot be
executed by Mono on this platform. The
assembly was probably created using
C++/CLI.
There are iPhone-specific binaries available, I suppose I have to link the whole library as described here:
http://monotouch.net/Documentation/Binding_New_Objective-C_Types
?
Thank you for your help :)
First, why this does not work.
Second, what you can do about it.
Why it does not work: The library that you are using is compiled with C++/CLI compiler against the Microsoft libraries.
All managed code that you use in MonoTouch must be compiled using MonoTouch's assemblies and tools, so the above wont work for two reasons: (a) Mono lacks a C++/CLI compiler and (b) even if that existed, you would have to reference the Mono asseblies
What can you do about it: You can build ImageMagic with Apple's C compiler, and then link the resulting code into your application:
http://monotouch.net/Documentation/Linking_Native_Libraries
Then for each ImageMagick method that you want to access, you need to wrap it using P/Invoke, a guide is available here:
http://www.mono-project.com/Interop_with_Native_Libraries
that error answers your question for you :
in assembly '/ImageMagickNET/bin/ReleaseQ8/ImageMagickNET.dll' contains native code that
cannot be executed by Mono on this
platform.
A quick google tells me on the imagemagick codeplex page
that you're probably using what is called a 'wrapper'.
this means that the imagemagick code itself is still non-.NET imagemagick, which will never run on your iPhone.
I'm facing problem while reference vb6 dll in .net project. When ever i refer a vb6 dll in .net project the interop dll is created with same version(1.2.0.0). Its creating problem for me as the setup used to deploy the application at client side does not replace the dll if the version is same as before. I want to change the version of the interop dll (created using vb6 dll). I read it cam done using tlbIMP but how to create tlb file for vb6 dll. Or is there is any other way to achieve this.
Thanks
Saurabh
Here's a small batch file we use to create our interop dll so it's strongly named:
sn.exe -i MichiganLTAP.pfx MagicContainerName
tlbimp.exe ourVb6.dll /out:Our.Strongnamed.Interop.dll /asmversion:7.1.0.0 /keycontainer:MagicContainerName /machine:X86 /namespace:Our.Strongnamed /verbose /sysarray
sn.exe -d MagicContainerName
The important switch from your perspective is: /asmversion:7.1.0.0
You should be able to set that to whatever you want. Check out the MSDN Library page for more info on the switches available.
It makes very little sense to make the version number of the interop library different from the version number of the type library that was created by VB6. There is a one-to-one mapping between what's in the interop library vs the code you wrote in VB6. The interop library simply contains IL declarations for the VB6 COM interfaces, there is no actual code. The CLR uses it to quickly generate the RCW for the interface.
Change the type library version number in VB6 with Project + Properties, Make tab, Version number. Major and minor is what counts. Do this only when you make a change in the publicly visible VB6 classes. Doing so is required btw, it avoids DLL Hell.
I am writing a C++/CLI which have access/"dependencies" to many DLL COM and DLL .NET libraries.
Is this possible to link/join all these libraries into my C++/CLI program and generate only one executable object in such a way that I never again have to consider these dependencies every time I have to move my object to another computer?
Thanks!!!
ILMerge is an option for collapsing several managed assemblies into one: ILMerge Best Practices
However ILMerge might not be an option:
You can't merge the COM DLLs without having source code to them
Since you mentioned COM, I'm guessing that your C++/CLI program isn't pure IL: ILMerge won't touch assemblies like this that contain native code. (If your C++/CLI program uses COM through COM interop, and it's otherwise pure .NET, you should be OK.)