CLanguage

CLanguage

CLanguage is a .NET Standard library that contains a C/C++ parser, a compiler (to its own VM), and an interpreter (for its VM). It's a very small library that enables you to embed C/C++ scripts into your .NET apps.

It is used to simulate Arduinos in the app iCircuit. It features cycle counting so that infinite loops and long computations can be paused.

I describe other details of it in my blog entry Oops, I Wrote a C++ Compiler.

Usage

There are two stages:

1. Compiling using CLanguage.Compiler.CCompiler
2. Interpreting using CLanguage.Interpreter.CInterpreter

Machine information, such as pointer sizes, is stored in MachineInfo objects.

After compilation, you must create an interpreter, Reset it, then Run it.

Simple Evaluation

There is a static Eval method on CLanguageService to make compiling and executing expressions easier than setting everything up manually.

For example:

var result = CLanguageService.Eval("2 + 3");
Assert.AreEqual(5, result);

Parsing Header Files

You can use CLanguageService.ParseTranslationUnit() to parse C/C++ header files and extract struct/enum definitions, global variables, function declarations, and typedefs without compiling to bytecode.

using CLanguage;
using CLanguage.Syntax;

var code = File.ReadAllText("myheader.h");
TranslationUnit tu = CLanguageService.ParseTranslationUnit(code);

// Struct/class definitions
foreach (var (name, structType) in tu.Structures)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"struct {name}:");
    foreach (var member in structType.Members)
        Console.WriteLine($"  {member.Name}: {member.MemberType}");
}

// Enum definitions
foreach (var (name, enumType) in tu.Enums)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"enum {name}:");
    foreach (var member in enumType.Members)
        Console.WriteLine($"  {member.Name} = {member.Value}");
}

// Global variables
foreach (var variable in tu.Variables)
    Console.WriteLine($"var {variable.Name}: {variable.VariableType}");

// Function declarations
foreach (var func in tu.Functions)
    Console.WriteLine($"func {func.Name}: {func.FunctionType}");

// Typedefs
foreach (var (name, type) in tu.Typedefs)
    Console.WriteLine($"typedef {name} = {type}");

Key types you can inspect:

• CStructType.Members — list of CStructField (with Name, MemberType) and CStructMethod entries
• CEnumType.Members — list of CEnumMember (with Name, Value)
• CFunctionType — has ReturnType and Parameters (each with Name and ParameterType)
• CompiledVariable — has Name and VariableType

If you need system headers resolved (e.g., #include <stdint.h>), use the CParser directly and provide an include callback.