Why interoperability does not work with static lib file

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Hi,

We have unmanaged c++ static library which I wanted to use in C# code. But when I tried it wasn't working. Then I try to search on Google and came to know it is not possible to directly use static library with C#, but I did not find reason behind it, can you please suggest why I cannot use static lib with C#.

Regards

Posted 1-Jul-12 0:35am

Pranit Kothari

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Ganesan Senthilvel · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-01T06:48:00

Solution 2

No, you can't access static libraries directly from C#. You have to use a DLL. Static library means that the library is going to be merged with your final application. This concept doesn't exist in .net. .net supports DLLs only

The way to use a static library in C# is to first create a Managed C++ wrapper that will provide a facade for the rest of the managed world. As everyone else has already commented, C# only supports DLLs for P/Invoke.

Hope, it clears your query.

Posted 1-Jul-12 6:48am

Ganesan Senthilvel

Comments

[no name] 1-Jul-12 12:56pm

Thanks 5!

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 1-Jul-12 18:29pm

Correct, my 5.

I added some brief speculations explaining why not .LIB files, even though it is intuitively pretty much obvious for those who know how linking and loading works. Please see.
--SA

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-01T12:34:00

In addition to the correct answer by GanesanSenthilvel.

He did not explain why .LIB modules are not imported by .NET, only DLLs. Essentially, the .LIB files are just collections of the contents of .OBJ file, something to keep the object files in a single "library". The answer is: .LIB or .OBJ file do not exist during run-time, only DLL modules do. Besides, due to historical reasons, .LIB files are not well standardized, which is explainable, because they serve as intermediate files, and their details are not critical for compatibility of executable modules, legacy or contemporary ones (DLL is one kind of executable modules) with the platform.

—SA