# CppAst.NET [](https://github.com/xoofx/CppAst/actions) [](https://coveralls.io/github/xoofx/CppAst.NET?branch=main) [](https://www.nuget.org/packages/CppAst/)
CppAst provides a C/C++ parser for header files with access to the full AST, comments and macros for .NET Framework and .NET Core
## Purpose
> The target primary usage of this library is to serve as a simple foundation for domain oriented PInvoke/Interop codegen
## Features
- Compatible with `net8.0`
- For `netstandard2.0` use `0.14.0` version.
- Using `Clang/libclang 17.0.1`
- Allow to parse *in-memory* C/C++ text and C/C++ files from the disk
- Simple AST model
- Full type system
- Provides basic access to attributes (`_declspec(...)` or `__attribute__((...))`)
- Provides access to attached comments
- Provides access to expressions for variable and parameter init value (e.g `const int x = (1 + 2) << 1` the `(1 + 2) << 1` will be retrievable as a binary expression from the AST)
- Provides access to macro definitions, including tokens via the option `CppParserOptions.ParseMacros` (default is `false`)
## Documentation
Check the [user guide](doc/readme.md) documentation from the `doc/` folder.
## Usage Example
### Setup
After installing the NuGet package, you need to modify your csproj to select a Platform RID via the `RuntimeIdentifier` property:
```xml
$(NETCoreSdkRuntimeIdentifier)
```
### Code
You can jump-start with the `CppParser.Parse` method:
```C#
// Parse a C++ files
var compilation = CppParser.Parse(@"
enum MyEnum { MyEnum_0, MyEnum_1 };
void function0(int a, int b);
struct MyStruct { int field0; int field1;};
typedef MyStruct* MyStructPtr;
"
);
// Print diagnostic messages
foreach (var message in compilation.Diagnostics.Messages)
Console.WriteLine(message);
// Print All enums
foreach (var cppEnum in compilation.Enums)
Console.WriteLine(cppEnum);
// Print All functions
foreach (var cppFunction in compilation.Functions)
Console.WriteLine(cppFunction);
// Print All classes, structs
foreach (var cppClass in compilation.Classes)
Console.WriteLine(cppClass);
// Print All typedefs
foreach (var cppTypedef in compilation.Typedefs)
Console.WriteLine(cppTypedef);
```
Prints the following result:
```
enum MyEnum {...}
void function0(int a, int b)
struct MyStruct { ... }
typedef MyStruct* MyStructPtr
```
## Binaries
This library is distributed as a NuGet package [](https://www.nuget.org/packages/CppAst/)
## Known issues
The library libclang used by this project has some known issues and limitations:
- Attributes are not fully exposed (e.g in function parameters, on typedefs...)
- Generic instance types are not fully exposed (e.g used as parameters, or as base types...)
## License
This software is released under the [BSD-Clause 2 license](https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause).
## Credits
* [ClangSharp](https://github.com/microsoft/ClangSharp): .NET managed wrapper around Clang/libclang
## Related
The C++ project [cppast](https://github.com/foonathan/cppast) serves similar purpose although CppAst.NET does not share API or any implementation details.
## Author
Alexandre Mutel aka [xoofx](https://xoofx.github.io).