.net 4 - run code from string - in C# / F# / IronR

Question

What ways do I have in .net to run code from string?

Console.WriteLine(Compile("1 + 2 * 3"));    // results is 7.

What other options do we have?

• C# - Compile the code on runtime?
• IronRuby / IronPython?
• F#?

Answer 1

Checkout NCalc. It's a dll you can include in your application and it supports multiple math and logic operations. http://ncalc.codeplex.com/

Answer 2

So, the dynamic languages like IronRuby and IronPython make it very easy to do what you want. Create a script engine and execute the string. Easy as that.

C#, it is possible, using the Code DOM... but it it compiles the code every time into a DLL. This is a costly behavior and can cause your app to grow in memory size over time if you don't do some tricky stuff with App Domains. It CAN be done, but I really prefer using IronRuby or IronPython over this approach. It is much more simple.

Finally, in C# 5.0, we are expecting to see the compiler as a managed service. This means you will be able to run eval("//c#code") in the future... but it is not available yet.

Hope it helps!