How to use *.lib file in C# application?

Question

So I have some .lib file (generated like this one) How to use it from my C# WPF application?

Matthieu

Answer 1

When you want to use native libraries from C# you won't need a .lib file. The way this is handled in .NET is by using Platform Invoke (P/Invoke). I suggest you follow the tutorial on MSDN, it will get you started:

Platform Invoke Tutorial

If you want to generate a wrapper you might want to have a look at the P/Invoke Interop Assistant on CodePlex. Please note that this tool works on the original C/C++ code. Using a .dll file to create a wrapper is not feasible because native DLLs don't store the signature of the exported functions (as described in this thread) and a lib file will store the signature in a compiler specific way.

Nomenclator

and can .lib file at least help me in creating a wraper? – Matthieu

If all you have is a .lib and .h file, you can create a dll wrapper for the lib, exporting the functions you need. – Doubloon

@Stephen Cleary: As this is about using native code from C# the lib file will not be needed. All you will need is the method signature and the name of the native dll that contains the method. – Nomenclator