C# - API Bindings – Tinkerforge

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# C# - API Bindings

Note

There is an extra section for C# and Windows Phone.

The C# bindings allow you to control Bricks and Bricklets from your C# programs. The ZIP file for the bindings contains:

- `Tinkerforge.dll`, a precompiled C#/.NET library (without debug info)
- `Tinkerforge.dll.mdb`, debug info for `Tinkerforge.dll`
- `Tinkerforge.xml`, the API documentation for Visual Studio, MonoDevelop, etc
- in `source/` the source code of `Tinkerforge.dll`
- in `examples/` the examples for every Brick and Bricklet

The C#/.NET library has no external dependencies.

## Requirements

- C# compiler

## Installation

If and how the C# bindings have to be installed depends heavily on how you are going to use them. If you are just calling the C# compiler from the command line then you can just put the `Tinkerforge.dll` file into the same folder as the C# code of your program.

To use the bindings in an IDE you'll probably have to add the `Tinkerforge.dll` file to the assembly catalog of the IDE. How this is done depends on the IDE and will be explained in documentation of that IDE.

The C# bindings are also available as NuGet package that can be added in Visual Studio C# and MonoDevelop (via NuGet addin) to your project as external reference.

The NuGet package does neither include the source code of the bindings nor the examples. Those are available as part of the bindings ZIP file.

## Testing an Example

To test a C# example Brick Daemon and Brick Viewer have to be installed first. Brick Daemon acts as a proxy between the USB interface of the Bricks and the API bindings. Brick Viewer connects to Brick Daemon and helps to figure out basic information about the connected Bricks and Bricklets.

As an example let's compile the configuration example for the Stepper Brick from the command line. For this we copy `Tinkerforge.dll` file and `ExampleConfiguration.cs` file from the `examples/Brick/Stepper/` folder into a new folder:

    example_project/
     -> Tinkerforge.dll
     -> ExampleConfiguration.cs

In the example `HOST` and `PORT` specify at which network address the Stepper Brick can be found. If it is connected locally to USB then `localhost` and 4223 is correct. The `UID` value has to be changed to the UID of the connected Stepper Brick, which you can figure out using Brick Viewer:

    private static string HOST = "localhost";
    private static int PORT = 4223;
    private static string UID = "XYZ"; // Change to your UID

Now we can call the Visual Studio C# compiler in the `example_project/` folder like this on Windows:

    csc /target:exe /out:Example.exe /reference:Tinkerforge.dll ExampleConfiguration.cs

and the Mono Compiler like this on Linux and Mac OS X:

    gmcs /target:exe /out:Example.exe /reference:Tinkerforge.dll ExampleConfiguration.cs

Alternatively you can use the C# library and example in an C# IDE of your choice such as Visual Studio or MonoDevelop.

## CLS Compliance

Since version 2.0.0 the C# bindings are Common Language Specification compliant. This allows to use them with all .NET compatible languages. For Visual Basic .NET, Mathematica and LabVIEW (Windows) we provide dedicated examples and documentation to demonstrate this.

## API Reference and Examples

Links to the API reference for the IP Connection, Bricks and Bricklets as well as the examples from the ZIP file of the bindings are listed in the following table. Further project descriptions can be found in the Starter Kits section.

| API | Examples
--- | --- | ---
IP Connection | API | Examples
Bricks |  |
DC | API | Examples
IMU | API | Examples
Master | API | Examples
RED | API | Examples
Servo | API | Examples
Stepper | API | Examples
Bricklets |  |
Ambient Light | API | Examples
Analog In | API | Examples
Analog Out | API | Examples
Barometer | API | Examples
Color | API | Examples
Current12 | API | Examples
Current25 | API | Examples
Distance IR | API | Examples
Distance US | API | Examples
Dual Button | API | Examples
Dual Relay | API | Examples
GPS | API | Examples
Hall Effect | API | Examples
Humidity | API | Examples
Industrial Digital In 4 | API | Examples
Industrial Digital Out 4 | API | Examples
Industrial Dual 0-20mA | API | Examples
Industrial Quad Relay | API | Examples
IO-16 | API | Examples
IO-4 | API | Examples
Joystick | API | Examples
LCD 16x2 | API | Examples
LCD 20x4 | API | Examples
LED Strip | API | Examples
Line | API | Examples
Linear Poti | API | Examples
Moisture | API | Examples
Motion Detector | API | Examples
Multi Touch | API | Examples
NFC/RFID | API | Examples
Piezo Buzzer | API | Examples
Piezo Speaker | API | Examples
PTC | API | Examples
Remote Switch | API | Examples
Rotary Encoder | API | Examples
Rotary Poti | API | Examples
Segment Display 4x7 | API | Examples
Solid State Relay | API | Examples
Sound Intensity | API | Examples
Temperature | API | Examples
Temperature IR | API | Examples
Tilt | API | Examples
Voltage | API | Examples
Voltage/Current | API | Examples

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