6

I have a number of tools that are more like scripts that full-fledged programs and in the olden days I would simply call the csc.exe compiler and throw the program.cs in there like this:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\csc.exe
  /out:NasPath.exe
  /target:exe
  /optimize+
  /debug-
  /platform:x64
  NasPath.cs

I'm pretty certain that .net 4.8.1 will be around on Windows for quite some time but for my learning journey I was curious if there's a simple way to compile such a C# file in net7.0 or if I always need at least a .csproj file for that.

Improve this question
2
  • Not quite an answer, but you may be interested to look at LINQPad, which makes it very easy to write a simple expression, a few statements, or an entire program, run them as scripts, and visualize their results. It includes a command-line tool for executing the files as scripts from the command line. Commented Feb 1, 2024 at 22:47
  • I definitely second LINQPad, but if anyone is looking for an open-source alternative, NetPad is great. It uses Monaco, which is what VSCode uses as its code editor. It's not as good for interfacing with databases as LINQPad is, but if you're just looking for running snippets, it's extremely useful. Commented Sep 22, 2024 at 16:08

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
5

If you're asking whether the dotnet tool is capable of compiling single Program.cs file into an executable - bypassing the creation of the .csproj file - then the answer is probably no? - I haven't found a way to do that.

On the other hand, the .NET 7.0's .csproj file size can be very small, and even can be created-and-deleted-afterwards from within your scripts:

echo ^<Project Sdk=^"Microsoft.NET.Sdk^"^>^<PropertyGroup^>^<OutputType^>Exe^</OutputType^>^<TargetFramework^>net7.0^</TargetFramework^>^</PropertyGroup^>^</Project^> > MyApp.csproj
"C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe" build .
DEL MyApp.csproj
Improve this answer
Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

2

If you want to compile a single C# file without creating a dotnet project. You can use the that command

dotnet script Example.cs

To use this command, you must install the dotnet script with

dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script

and make sure that the "your user path/.dotnet/tool" folder is added to the "path" environment variable.

The csc Example.cs command is valid for versions before Net 5.0.

But if you want to compile and obtain obj and exe files instead of running a specific file. First, create a ".csproj" file with the same name in the directory where the cs file is located.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

   <PropertyGroup>
     <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
     <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
   </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

You need to enter that codes above and save. And then you need to run that command below :

dotnet build yourprojectfolderpath -o outfolderpath
Improve this answer

1 Comment

Note that dotnet script runs C# Script files (.csx), which have a slightly different syntax from actual C#. They add syntax for things like including external libraries.
0

Even if your project only encompasses one file, I'd still recommend using a .csproj file and using the .NET CLI. Its build system is actually quite nice for simple applications like this (the csproj functions pretty much as a configuration file in your scenario).

However, for other onlookers that might be interested, I've recently created a dotnet tool, which acts as a wrapper over the csc.dll binary provided by the current .NET SDK:

dotnet tool install -g csc

...you can then invoke it as if it were on your PATH:

asc@ascpixi:~$ csc -version
4.8.0-7.24225.6 (de75b3c7)

It's useful for when you want to avoid MSBuild, are writing your own build system, or for experimentation - you name it.

Improve this answer

Comments

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.