Chapter 5. Essential .NET Tools

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 be found either in the \bin directory of your .NET Framework SDK installation or in the %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\VERSION directory (replace VERSION with the framework version). Once the .NET Framework is installed, you can access these tools 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 or Enter key.

ADepends.exe: assembly dependency list

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 \Tool Developers Guide directory beneath the .NET Framework or Visual Studio .NET directory tree. You need to install these samples before you can use them, because they are not installed by default.

Al.exe: assembly linking utility

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.netmodule b.netmodule

CorDbg.exe : runtime debugger

General source-level, command-line debug utility for MSIL programs. Very useful tool for C# source debugging. Source for cordbg is available in the \Tool Developers Guide directory.

Csc.exe: C# compiler

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

DbgClr.exe: GUI debugger

Windows-based, source-level debugger. Available in the \GuiDebug directory of the .NET Framework SDK installation.

GACUtil.exe: global assembly cache utility

Allows you to install, uninstall, and list the contents of the global assembly cache. Here's an example:

gacutil /i c.dll

ILAsm.exe: MSIL assembler

Creates MSIL modules and assemblies directly from an MSIL textual representation.

ILDasm.exe : MSIL disassembler

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

InstallUtil.exe: installer utility

Executes installers and uninstallers contained within the assembly. A logfile can be written, and state information can be persisted.

Ngen.exe: native image generator

Compiles an assembly to native code and installs a native image in the local assembly cache. That native image is used each time you access the original assembly, even though the original assembly contains MSIL. If the runtime can't locate the native image, it falls back on JIT compilation. Here are some examples:

ngen foo.exe
ngen foo.dll

nmake.exe: make utility

Common utility that scripts building of multiple components and source files and tracks rebuild dependency information. See Appendix E for more information.

PEVerify.exe: portable executable verifier

Verifies that your compiler has generated type-safe MSIL. C# will always generate type-safe MSIL. Useful interop with ILASM-based programs.

RegAsm.exe: register assembly tool

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 

RegSvcs.exe : register services utility

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 /appname:comapp /tlb:newfoo.tlb

Sn.exe : shared name utility

Verifies assemblies and their key information. Also generates key files. Here's an example:

sn -k mykey.snk

SoapSuds.exe: SoapSuds utility

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?wsdl
   -os:app.xml

TlbExp.exe : type library exporter

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

TlbImp.exe: type library importer

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

Wsdl.exe: web services description language tool

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.

WinCV.exe : windows class viewer

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 is displayed in another window.

Xsd.exe : XML schema definition tool

Generates XML schemas from XDR, XML files, or class information. Can also generate DataSet or class information from a schema. Here's an example:

xsd foo.xdr
xsd bar.dll