Way to use an .exe which is generated using VB in vc++?

Karthik Agarwal

15y2.8k

Hi,

Is there a way through which i can use an .exe generated using VB code in VC++ or else in the worst case, can i reuse the code which is written in VB in my VC++ application. I am working on visual studio 2008.

Thanks & Regards,
P.Karthik

6 Replies

Know the answer? Post it — somebody with the same question will find it here.

Vulpes15y ago
Accepted answer
You can use the System::Diagnostics::Process class to run another executable - VB6 or VB.NET.

You could also add a reference to a VB.NET class library file and then use it from a managed VC++ project.
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Karthik Agarwal15y ago
Ok done. But it takes sometime for me implement i guess. I will make a try and let's see how it goes. If i get any doubts again i will surely get back to you. Thanks Vulpes and Sam Hobbs as well.
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Vulpes15y ago
It definitely works as I described because I tried it before posting.

However, you can also add a reference as Sam described by selecting Properties from the dropdown and then expanding Common Properties. The dialog that appears is exactly the same as before.

Incidentally, when adding a reference to a VB.NET class library. don't forget to add references to any other assemblies which the former references but haven't been added to your C++/CLI project by default.

If you're not sure you can always open the library first with ildasm.exe to see what's referenced in the manifest but a commonly referenced assembly is Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll which contains all the old VB6-compatible functions as well as the newer 'My' namespace stuff.
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Sam Hobbs15y ago
Perhaps Vulpes is correct and we simply add references to C++ projects the same way as C# and VB projects but as far as I know it won't work. Or perhaps I misunderstand what you need.

If I understand what you need to do, then this should work. Right-click on the project and choose Properties. Then at the top of the tree view on the left is "Common Properties"; expand that and you will see "Framework and References". Voila! You can now add references as easily as in C# and VB projects.

This technique was not easy for me to find. I did find something explaining how to generate a type library or something like that, and I had problems doing that. So I posted a question in some other forum and the person (a very experienced and knowledgeable expert) was not able to solve the problem I had except he provided me with this easier solution. I soon discovered what was missing from the other way of doing things but now I don't need to do it.
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Vulpes15y ago
I'll try and show you using a very simple example.

First create the following VB.Net class library file and build it to classlibrary1.dll:

// classlibrary1.vb

Namespace ClassLibrary1

Public Class Class1

Public Function Add(ByVal i As Integer, ByVal j As Integer) As Integer

Return i + j

End Function

End Class

End Namespace

Next create a new C++/CLI console project, usevb.cpp, using the code below:

// usevb.cpp : main project file.
#include "stdafx.h"

using namespace System;
using namespace ClassLibrary1; // reference to namespace used in VB library

int main(array ^args)
{
Class1 ^ class1 = gcnew Class1();
int sum = class1->Add(2, 3);
Console::WriteLine(sum);
Console::ReadKey();
return 0;
}

Now, right click on the project in Solution Explorer and select References from the drop down.

Click on Add New Reference and browse to where classlibrary1.dll is located.

Finally, build and run the project and (hopefully) you should see 5 appear in the console window.

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Karthik Agarwal15y ago
How to add reference to VB.Net class file library file and then use it in vc++?
This way will be of more useful than the former.
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