dllman

Cross-platform runtime DLL manager.

Usage

Native Library

Windows specific conventions used. dllman is compatible with both Mac and Linux. Use __attribute__((visibility("default"))) if needed.

print.c compiled into print.dll:

__declspec(dllexport) void print(const char* message)
{
  printf("Printing Message: %s\n", message);
}

Standard main.c:

#include "dllman/native.h"

int main()
{
  dllman::NativeLibrary lib{};
  lib.load({ "print.dll" });
  
  void(*print)(const char*) = lib.load({ "print" });
  print("This is a message that will be printed.");
  
  return 0;
}

Container main.c:

#include "dllman/native.h"
#include "dllman/container.h"

class Print
{
  dllman::Container<dllman::NativeLibrary> lib_print.dll; // Must be before properties in class in order to initialize first.
public:
  void(*print)(const char*) = lib_[{ "print" }]; // GetDesc
}

int main()
{
  Print lib{};
  lib.print("This is a message that will be printed.");

  return 0;
}

CoreClr Library

Note:

Compiling an executable csproj with dotnet publish --self-contained WILL create necessary runtime libs in the same output folder. This method will be used in the example. You can manually specify a folder as the second LoadDesc parameter. These folders can be found with dotnet --list-runtimes.
You can use the function locate_runtime_library_path to attempt to locate latest runtime. The first parameter is an optional preferred version that will be returned if found, otherwise latest.

Utils.cs compiled into Test.dll:

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

namespace Test
{
  public class Utils
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      // This only exists to force dotnet to generate runtime libs.
    }
    
    public static void Print([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStr)]string msg)
    {
      Console.WriteLine($"C# Message: {msg}");
    }
  }
}

main.c:

#include "dllman/corclr.h"

int main()
{
  dllman::CoreClrLibrary lib;
  lib.load({ "Test.dll" }); // Here you can specify a runtime libraries path.
  
  void(*print)(const char*) = lib.get({ "Print", "Test.Utils" });
  print("This is a message that will be printed.");

  return 0;
}

Reference

Classes

NativeLibrary
CoreClrLibrary

All classes extend Library and have the methods as shown:

Name	Parameters	Function
load	LoadDesc	Loads library. Will unload existing and will be unloaded on destruction.
unload		Unloads library.
get	GetDesc	Gets a method from loaded library or `nullptr` when none is loaded.

GetDesc

name_: Name to get.
typeName_: Name of type it is within (C# Usage).

LoadDesc

path_: Path of library.
runtimeLibs_: Location of runtime libraries, will use path_ if empty (CoreClr Usage).

Compatibility

Support	Implmenation	Language	CMake Option
Supported	Windows.h	Native (Windows)	INCLUDE_NATIVE
Supported	libdl	Native (UNIX)	INCLUDE_NATIVE
Not Supported	Mono	Mono	INCLUDE_CS_MONO
Supported	CoreClr	.NET Core	INCLUDE_CS_DNC_CORECLR
Not Supported	HostFXR	.NET Core	INCLUDE_CS_DNC_HOSTFXR

Note

INCLUDE_CS_DNC_CORECLR will override INCLUDE_NATIVE to ON. It is required for library loading.