Thread: Hi! I'd like to understand how to include classes from one file into another.

Yes. See this link: C# 4.0 - Lesson 02: Introduction to C# Projects near the bottom of the lesson.


Quzah.

Originally Posted by timmmay

sorry to bother again, but all of his examples use visual studio, which i don't have, so im just trying to be completely sure that i got this.
from what i gathered:
the .class in java is kindof like .dll in .net no?

thanks again!

Well it's free to download. Also, the lower half shows how to compile via the command line, which is why I specifically mentioned the bottom part of the example:

Originally Posted by the example I was talking about

If you are creating your application using a text editor and if you create many files, when compiling the project, you must remember to reference each file. To do that, in the last section, add the name of each file with its extension:

csc FileName1.cs FileName2.cs FileName_n.cs

The executable you get is the one you can use on other computers and that you can distribute to other people.

Quzah.

Originally Posted by timmmay

sorry to bother again, but all of his examples use visual studio, which i don't have, so im just trying to be completely sure that i got this.
from what i gathered:
the .class in java is kindof like .dll in .net no?

Not exactly since a DLL file in C# can hold more than one class. It resembles a .class file in many other ways, though. It is however created explicitly through compiler switches and from an independent project.

My Java is inadequate and foggy, but I think i remember compiling a *.java file to a *.class file and then using a Class from the *.class file in other programs. Can you do this in C#?

Yes. You create your C# DLL project and code in all the necessary classes you wish to be a part of the DLL. Traditionally, inside that project we use a source file for each class, named -- at least partially -- after the class name. All classes are made to belong to a namespace (usually this is a common namespace for all the classes inside the DLL, but not always) so the classes are properly confined when being imported into other projects. We then compile and generate the DLL.

To import that DLL into another project, we add the compiled DLL as a reference to that new project. Where we make calls to objects and methods inside the DLL we add a using directive to any relevant namespaces we created inside the DLL.

what are some ways to use different files together?

This is a broad topic. But simplifying it:

Source files:
- You can put your entire project inside the same source file
- You can put each class, each interfaces, each enumerators and other entities into separate source files
- You can combine the two above to create source files that have more than one class, or some classes and an interface, etc...
- You can separate a class into several source files by using the partial keyword

Projects:
- You can compile your project into a single executable or dll
- You can create a solution and develop several independent projects (usually one executable and several DLLs) belonging to that solution (this is the common approach to software development in C# for any project other than the simplest ones). I don't know if your IDE supports this, but you should look for one that does.

Solutions:
- For large, complex systems you can create several solutions in either a partitioned solution or multi-solution model (see Structuring Solutions and Projects). See also Rules to Better Large Builds for an alternative approach (dubbed Mick's Recommended Approach, point 4.3)