Is there a C# ready-to-use class that imports everything from USER32.DLL?

Question

I am tired of looking up for method signatures. I'd rather just type something like User32.SendMessage.... Is there something like that?

Basically have a static class with bunch of definitions like :

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern bool SetParent(int hWndChild, int hWndNewParent);

I voted to close with reason *Questions asking us to recommend or find a book, tool, software library, tutorial or other off-site resource are off-topic for Stack Overflow as they tend to attract opinionated answers and spam. Instead, describe the problem and what has been done so far to solve it.* Refer http://stackoverflow.com/help/on-topic — Sriram Sakthivel, Jan 14 '15 at 06:58

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 14 '15 at 07:09

3

There is no built in class or static library to do that. However, you could try a google search for some free libraries, or even write your own implementation.

The thing is, user32.dll is part of the win32 api, which was originally meant for C++ applications. When Microsoft rolled out .NET (and soon after, C#), they did not provide native support - in order to run a .NET application, you require the .NET dll binaries.

So until Microsoft decides to rectify this, you'll have to stick with a bunch of definitions.

answered Jan 14 '15 at 07:09

Forrest4096

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1
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If a lot of people are using `DllImport` then I thought there should be someone who imported that all. I surely can create a class like that but before spending time, I was wondering if someone else has already done that for me :) – Schultz9999 Jan 14 '15 at 07:22
Unfortunately, its like using apples to make orange juice - unless you get messy, it just doesnt work :) – Forrest4096 Jan 14 '15 at 07:28

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 14 '15 at 08:17

Don't do this.

user32.dll does not contain the same functions across different versions of Windows. If you just blanket-import everything you will most likely ensure that your program can only run on the specific version of Windows that you are currently using.

Every time you import a native function you should check to see what version it came from - and decide whether that is a dependency you can live with.

Is there a C# ready-to-use class that imports everything from USER32.DLL?

2 Answers2