Click here to Skip to main content
15,886,199 members
Articles / Programming Languages / C#
Article

Evaluate C# Code (Eval Function)

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.74/5 (48 votes)
12 Oct 2005CPOL 418.4K   4.9K   130   35
An example that provides an Eval function for compiling/evaluating C# code at runtime.

Sample Image - EvalCSCode.jpg

Introduction

This example shows an "Eval" function for C# and implements different usages of this evaluate function. The library is written in C# and can be tested with the MainForm in the solution.

Source view

Here you will see all the trick. The code generates a class structure with a basic "function prototype" in which the code to evaluate is filled in. The execution of the function should execute your code:

C#
// Eval > Evaluates C# sourcelanguage
public static object Eval(string sCSCode) {

  CSharpCodeProvider c = new CSharpCodeProvider();
  ICodeCompiler icc = c.CreateCompiler();
  CompilerParameters cp = new CompilerParameters();

  cp.ReferencedAssemblies.Add("system.dll");
  cp.ReferencedAssemblies.Add("system.xml.dll");
  cp.ReferencedAssemblies.Add("system.data.dll");
  cp.ReferencedAssemblies.Add("system.windows.forms.dll");
  cp.ReferencedAssemblies.Add("system.drawing.dll");

  cp.CompilerOptions = "/t:library";
  cp.GenerateInMemory = true;

  StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("");
  sb.Append("using System;\n" );
  sb.Append("using System.Xml;\n");
  sb.Append("using System.Data;\n");
  sb.Append("using System.Data.SqlClient;\n");
  sb.Append("using System.Windows.Forms;\n");
  sb.Append("using System.Drawing;\n");

  sb.Append("namespace CSCodeEvaler{ \n");
  sb.Append("public class CSCodeEvaler{ \n");
  sb.Append("public object EvalCode(){\n");
  sb.Append("return "+sCSCode+"; \n");
  sb.Append("} \n");
  sb.Append("} \n");
  sb.Append("}\n");

  CompilerResults cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, sb.ToString());
  if( cr.Errors.Count > 0 ){
      MessageBox.Show("ERROR: " + cr.Errors[0].ErrorText, 
         "Error evaluating cs code", MessageBoxButtons.OK, 
         MessageBoxIcon.Error );
      return null;
  }

  System.Reflection.Assembly a = cr.CompiledAssembly;
  object o = a.CreateInstance("CSCodeEvaler.CSCodeEvaler");

  Type t = o.GetType();
  MethodInfo mi = t.GetMethod("EvalCode");

  object s = mi.Invoke(o, null);
  return s;

}

Thanks fly out to:

Credits:

  • Kim Hauser (dave) - Application Developer & System Engineer.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior)
Switzerland Switzerland
programmer and software junkie since 1991 zurich switzerland

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralTotal waste of time... Pin
markman@shaw.ca3-Mar-06 12:08
markman@shaw.ca3-Mar-06 12:08 
GeneralRe: Total waste of time... Pin
Pascal Ganaye20-Mar-06 9:12
Pascal Ganaye20-Mar-06 9:12 
GeneralRe: Total waste of time... Pin
markman@shaw.ca21-Mar-06 5:54
markman@shaw.ca21-Mar-06 5:54 
GeneralRe: Total waste of time... Pin
Graham Harrison11-Jan-07 23:34
Graham Harrison11-Jan-07 23:34 
GeneralAn Eval Function for C# using JScript.NET (JavaScript) Pin
Michael Freidgeim5-Jan-11 0:48
Michael Freidgeim5-Jan-11 0:48 
GeneralRe: Total waste of time... Pin
kim.david.hauser8-Feb-07 2:37
kim.david.hauser8-Feb-07 2:37 
GeneralRe: Total waste of time... Pin
marketware30-Aug-07 11:25
marketware30-Aug-07 11:25 
GeneralRe: Total waste of time... Pin
marketware31-Aug-07 11:08
marketware31-Aug-07 11:08 
GeneralI dont think Total waste of time.. Pin
Midax27-Apr-10 9:40
Midax27-Apr-10 9:40 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.