C# change executable to dll file

14y4.3kVisual Basic .NET

I am told to modify a C# 2010 console application that calls (executes) a C# 2008 console application. The C# 2008 calls a web service to upload and donwload documents. The console application that calls the web service was written by the company that maintains the web service.

Now I am told that excuting the C# 2008 that calls the web service will have a performance problem. I need to change the application to run as an executable that is running in memory.

Thus can you tell me and/or point me to a reference that will tell me how to change the application so that it runs an an executable?

4 Replies

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Vulpes14y ago
Accepted answer
Well, there might be a performance enhancement as all the code would be running within a single process. But, they're asking you to change a program that was written by someone else - namely the company that maintains the web service - and so you'll need to have the source code to do it.

The simplest way to change it to a dll would be to follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the class which contains the Main() method and the Main() method itself are both declared to be public.

2. In Solution Explorer, right click on the project's properties and select Open. Now under the Application tab, change the Output type from Console Application to Class Library.

3. Rebuild the application but don't try to run it.

4. In the 2010 Console application, right click on References in Solution Explorer and select Add Reference. Now under the Browse tab, navigate to where the dll is stored and OK it.

5. The dll should now appear as a reference in Solution Explorer. Make sure that, in its Properties Box, Copy Local is set to true.

6. Finally you'll need to make some changes to the code in the 2010 Console application:

(a) If the class containing the Main() method in the dll is contained within a namespace, then add a using directive for that namespace to the 2010 app.

(b) Replace the code which you previously had to run the 2008 app as a separate process, by a call on these lines:

namespace.nameofclass.Main();

If your 2010 application doesn't have a class with the same name as 'nameofclass' then you can omit the namespace part.

Notice that dlls don't normally have an entry point i.e. a Main() method as they don't 'start' automatically but are 'called into' by client apps.

So, in effect, we just using the Main() to call into the dll and start the ball rolling as far as the web service is concerned.

It may be that you'll need to make other changes to the code to accommodate the change from an exe to a dll but the above should give you a foundation on which to work without disrupting the existing code too much.
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Vulpes14y ago
1. It's difficult to say but, if you have any code which waits for the 'spawned' application to end, then that code will no longer be applicable because a dll never ends. Having said that, you could change the Main() method in the 2008 app so that it returns an int and use that int as a sort of 'exit code'.

Also, if the 2008 app was writing the results to a file and then the 2010 app was reading that file, you might now be able to alter the code so that a string or string[] containing what would have been the contents of the file is returned directly by a public method in the dll.

2. The easiest way would be to try and load the 2008 app into Visual Studio 2010 which should be able to convert the solution and project files automatically. You can then add additional code to the app and remove anything that is no longer needed.

Of these two solutions, I think that #2 makes most appeal.
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dc14y ago
I was told by a consulting company that looked at my code, they said the C# 2010 conosle application would run better if it ran a dll instead of running another exectuable. Basically they said the C# 2010 console application should run a dll instead calling a C# 2008 console application that called a web service. There would be a performance enhancement. If this is true, can you tell me how to run a dll file instead of the executable?
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Vulpes14y ago
I might be missing something here but I can't reconcile the title of this thread with the content of your post.

It sounds as though both console applications are .exes and so the 2010 one is launching the 2008 one which is calling the web service.

I can understand why there might be a performance problem with this (particularly if results are being passed back to the 2010 app) and that it might therefore be better for the 2010 app to call the web service directly.

However, I can't see what any of this has got to do with changing an exe to a dll.

Perhaps you could clarify.
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