C# Class Libraries (DLL) on a Mac?

I've Googled this, but found nothing.

Is there a way to create C# class libraries (DLL) without Visual Studio .NET... a way to compile the byte code on a Mac?

 

Ok, it looks like I can do this with MonoDevelop... I finally got a C# library to get created without the program freezing.

 

this can be done via terminal when you compile the source you must specify the /target:library argument.

 

I've not compiled C# via the terminal before. Can you expand on how to do this? I assume with Mono.


I did manage to successfully create a DLL using MonoDevelop, but the likelihood of getting MonoDevelop to launch without crashing is pretty low.

 

you would use it like this:

gmcs [source] [-oututput name] [-r:referenced .dlls] [-target:your target]

so... for example

gmc -recurse:'./source/*.cs' -out:MyLib.dll -target:library -r:System.dll

Something like that to build a directory of .cs files into a .dll


Edit - Help menu from terminal:

 

Using the terminal or a shell script to compile a C# .dll library works for me with no hickups and its as easy as drag n' drop into your assets folder to use.

My Path project uses a .dll.

 

Is it possible to use the compiler included with Unity to create a MSIL assembly?

I noticed that the "Assembly - CSharp - first pass.dll" seems to contain any non-compiled scripts that existed in the Plugins folder. When I disassembled the dll I found that it also contained the built-in image processing effects, which I guess is a problem. The "Assembly - CSharp.dll" was much cleaner however.

 

Not sure. I did it externally using the mono compiler and Platypus to create a nice double-click solution. I set up Platypus to run the following shell script:

Code (csharp):

1. #!/bin/sh
2.  
3. cd "$1/../"
4. echo Compiling...
5.  
6. gmcs -d:DEBUG -debug+ -r:/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/Frameworks/UnityEngine.dll -target:library -out:Path.dll Source/*.cs
7. echo Distributing...
8. cp -R -H "$1/../Path.dll" "$1/../Assets/Path/Path.dll"
9. echo Done!

Set the app to continue running after script completion and to have a textual output window.

I also made a release version which doesn't define the DEBUG symbol and compiles with less debug information using the -debug parameter.

Mono compiler: http://www.mono-project.com/CSharp_Compiler
Platypus: http://www.sveinbjorn.org/platypus

 

UnityEngine.dll is placed in /Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/Frameworks/Managed/UnityEngine.dll on my mac.

 

Location changed once more (Unity 5.4b18):

/Applications/Unity/Unity.app/Contents/Managed/UnityEngine.dll