C# Console?

Answer 1

Given your mention of "C#'s reflection power", I am unsure whether you're looking for an interactive C# console for small code snippets of your own (à la Ruby's irb), or a means of interacting with an existing, compiled application currently running as a process.

In the former case:

• Windows PowerShell might be your friend
• Another candidate would be the C# shell
• Finally, CSI, a Simple C# Interpreter

Answer 2

Google reveals a few efforts at this. One in particular illustrates why this is less straightforward than it might seem. http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/csi.aspx has a basic interpreter using .NET's built in ability to compile c# code. A key problem is that the author's approach creates a new mini .NET assembly for each interpreted line. C# may have the reflective power to have a python or ruby style console, but the .NET framework libraries are geared toward compiling C#, not dynamically interpreting it. If you are serious about this, you may want to look at http://www.paxscript.net/, which seems like a genuine attempt at interpreted C#.

Answer 3

I am not sure what you are looking for this application to accomplish. If it is just to try some code without having to create a project and all the overhead to just test an idea, then SnippetCompiler could be a good fit.

I just wanted to give you another option.

Answer 4

Found this on reddit: http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2008/Sep-08.html

Quote from the site:

The idea was simple: create an interactive C# shell by altering the compiler to generate and execute code dynamically as opposed to merely generating static code.

Answer 5

It appears Miguel De Icaza was stalking me:

http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2008/Sep-08.html

Answer 6

If you don't have to use the console, and just want a place to test some ad hoc C# snippets, then LinqPad is a good option. I find it very cool/easy to use.

Answer 7

I would like a copy of the source code! Can you publish it? Thanks