The .NET Framework SDK contains many useful
programming tools. Here, in an alphabetical list, are those we have
found most useful or necessary for developing C# applications. Unless
otherwise noted, the tools in this list can all be found in the
in directory of your .NET Framework SDK
installation, but once the .NET Framework is installed, you can
access them from any directory. To use any of these tools, invoke a
Command Prompt window and enter the name of the desired tool. For a
complete list of the available command-line switches for any given
tool, enter the tool name (e.g., csc
) and press
the Return key.
Adepends displays all assemblies that a given assembly is dependent on to load. This is a useful C# program found among the samples in the ool developers guide directory of the .NET Framework directory tree. You need to install these samples before you can use them, because they are not installed by default.
Creates an assembly manifest from the modules and resources files you name. You can also include Win32 resources files. Here’s an example:
al /out:c.dll a.dll b.dll
General source level command line debug utility for MSIL programs. Very useful tool for C# source debugging. Source for cordbg is available in the ool developers guide directory.
Compiles C# sources, and incorporates resource files and separately compiled modules. Also allows you to specify conditional compilation options, XML documentation, and path information. Here are some examples:
csc foo.cs /r:bar.dll /win32res:foo.res csc foo.cs /debug /define:TEMP
Windows-based source level debugger. Available in the GuiDebug directory of the .NET Framework SDK installation.
Allows you to install, uninstall, and list the contents of the global assembly cache. Here’s an example:
gacutil /i c.dll
Creates MSIL modules and assemblies directly from an MSIL textual representation.
Disassembles modules and assemblies. The default is to display a tree style representation, but you can also specify an output file. Here are some examples:
ildasm b.dll ildasm b.dll /out=b.asm
Executes installers and uninstallers contained within the assembly. A logfile can be written, and state information can be persisted.
Common utility that scripts building of multiple components and source files and tracks rebuild dependency information. See Appendix E, for more information.
Verifies that your compiler has generated type-safe MSIL. C# will always generates type-safe MSIL. Useful interop with ILASM-based programs.
Registers an assembly in the system registry. This allows COM clients to call managed methods. You can also use it to generate the registry file, for future registration. Here’s an example:
regasm /regfile:c.reg c.dll
Registers an assembly to COM+ 1.0, and installs its typelib into an existing application. Can also generate a typelib. Here’s an example:
regsvcs foo.dll comapp newfoo.tlb
Verifies assemblies and their key information. Also generates key files. Here’s an example:
sn -k mykey.snk
Creates XML schemas for services in an assembly and creates assemblies from a schema. You can also reference the schema via its URL. Here’s an example:
soapsuds -url:http://localhost/myapp/app.soap?SDL -os:app.xml
Exports a COM typelib derived from the public types within the supplied assembly. Differs from regasm in that it doesn’t perform any registration. Here’s an example:
tlbexp /out:c.tlb c.dll
Creates a managed assembly from the supplied COM typelib, mapping the type definitions to .NET types. You need to import this new assembly into your C# program for use. Here’s an example:
tlbimp /out:MyOldCom.dll MyCom.tlb
Creates service descriptions and generates proxies for ASP .NET web-service methods. See the ASP.NET documentation in the .NET Framework SDK for more detail on web services.
Searches for matching names within a supplied assembly. If none are supplied, it uses the default libraries. The namespaces and classes are displayed in a listbox, and the selected type information displays in another window.
A WinForms-based component designer for C# or Visual Basic forms with toolbox, property editor, and a display form.
Generates XML schemas from XDR, XML files, or class information. Also can generate DataSet or class information from a schema. Here’s an example:
xsd foo.xdr xsd bar.dll
18.226.187.233