Compiling

[bob]

Is it possible to compile dot net programs to a standalone native windows
exe (without requiring dot net framework runtime)? If so, is it then
possible to distribute exe's with only required dotnet dll's rather than
entire dotnet framework? Or alternatively can the dll's be compiled into the
exe?

Bob

 

[Huihong Luo]

Yes, it is possible, but not directly via VS.NET. You will
need to use 3rd party tools.

We are building such a tool, Salamander .NET Native
Compiler, that links and compiles .NET assemblies to x86
format, and can run w/o .NET framework. We are right now
in the testing phase, and will provide more info available
in the future. This way, you can develop in C# or VB.NET,
compile to a .NET EXE, then use our tool to emit a native
image like the traditional C/C++. Only necessary classes
are linked together into the native image.

The natively compiled code can be choosen to still support
reflection, i.e., one can still invoke a method/field by
names just as CLR.

Huihong
Decompile, Obfuscate, Protect and natively compile
your .NET Code
http://www.remotesoft.com