Native code and IL

I haven't had a chance to use managed C++ yet (been working with unmanaged C++ and C#).

If I create a managed C++ project and use a lot of the STL, does the entire project translate into IL or does the unmanaged parts get natively compiled?

I've searched for this answer and I couldn't find anything but it looks like it may translate into IL.

The reason I ask is because I am working on a DLL I want to be usable in C# and VB.Net, however; I would like it natively compiled so I can get the speed boost C++ would give me AND I would like my code to be a little bit more safe. Plus, I enjoy the STL containers more than the Microsoft Collections.

In my (brief) trial at creating a managed C++ application I found that the compiler baulked at my use of STL collections in a garbage collected class. There is probably a way round it, but I never had the inclination to find out; and I also prefered STL to the .NET collections. I imagine some others here will enlighten us to the work-around.

You can explicity state which file to be unmanaged with the #pragma unmanaged directive. Native stuff remains native, but why not use the dotNet containers instead?

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Originally Posted by NoHero

You can explicity state which file to be unmanaged with the #pragma unmanaged directive. Native stuff remains native

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But is there no way to use an STL container in a managed class?

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, but why not use the dotNet containers instead?

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You seem to have to do a lot of casting to get at the contents.
Anyway, I have a lot of source code using STL collections and I wasn't in the mood to go round changing them all.

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But is there no way to use an STL container in a managed class?

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I got something wrong here maybe... Using unmanaged stl in a managed project shouldn't be a problem at all. A managed class can have unmanaged members too, but not vice versa. But remember: Using hardcompiled unmanaged stuff nails your application down the platform it was compiled on.

And yeah the casting is hell, and well it becomes more complicated on the new syntax :D

But when creating a new Managed Project I would rather stick on the managed System::Collection classes than on unmanaged STL.

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Originally Posted by NoHero

But remember: Using hardcompiled unmanaged stuff nails your application down the platform it was compiled on.

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No problem with that here :thumb:

BTW What is the syntax for an STL member in a managed class?
Using vector<char> data; caused the compiler to complain about a non-managed member in a garbage collected class.

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But when creating a new Managed Project I would rather stick on the managed System::Collection classes than on unmanaged STL.

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I suppose if you were starting from scratch that would make sense, though having to do a lot of casting seems like a bit of a backward step.
I'm sure I've heard something about Microsoft adding some sort of templated colections to .NET.

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Originally Posted by JohnW@Wessex

I suppose if you were starting from scratch that would make sense, though having to do a lot of casting seems like a bit of a backward step.
I'm sure I've heard something about Microsoft adding some sort of templated colections to .NET.

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They added generics, however; they are no where near as powerful as templates and it's a bit awkward to use them.