Dynamic Code Execution in WPF C# Applications

This article tackles the problem of executing code from an external text file within a WPF C# application. The text file, containing the code to be executed, resides in the application's execution directory.

Implementation

This solution leverages a combination of code compilation and reflection techniques. The process involves real-time compilation of the code from the text file and subsequent instantiation and invocation of the target method from the compiled assembly.

The following code snippet illustrates this approach:

// ... code ...

Dictionary providerOptions = new Dictionary
{
    {"CompilerVersion", "v3.5"}
};
CSharpCodeProvider provider = new CSharpCodeProvider(providerOptions);

CompilerParameters compilerParams = new CompilerParameters
{
    GenerateInMemory = true,
    GenerateExecutable = false
};

CompilerResults results = provider.CompileAssemblyFromSource(compilerParams, sourceCode);

if (results.Errors.Count > 0)
    throw new Exception("Compilation failed!");

object instance = results.CompiledAssembly.CreateInstance("Foo.Bar"); // Assuming the class is named "Bar" in the "Foo" namespace
MethodInfo method = instance.GetType().GetMethod("SayHello"); // Assuming the method is named "SayHello"
method.Invoke(instance, null);

Detailed Explanation

The code first reads the C# code from the text file into a string variable (sourceCode). A CSharpCodeProvider is initialized with specified compiler options. CompilerParameters are set to generate the compiled assembly in memory, without creating an executable file. The CompileAssemblyFromSource method then performs the compilation.

Error checking follows the compilation process. If compilation is successful, an instance of the compiled class is created using CreateInstance, and the specified method is invoked using GetMethod and Invoke. This allows for dynamic execution of code loaded externally. Note that the namespace and class/method names must match the code in the text file. Error handling (e.g., try-catch blocks) should be added for robustness in a production environment.