Is it possible to execute an arbitrary class in C# with a Main method, similar to that in Java?

Question

I've recently had to migrate to the C# world. Coming from the Java land, I could add a public static void main(String[] args) method to any class and select to run that class from Eclipse/Netbeans for any code/logic that I wanted to quickly test.

Is there an equivalent of the same capability in C#.Net/Visual Studio? I've tried doing that and the best I can do is to execute it from the command prompt via csc.exe . However, for some reason, it complains about not finding the relevant DLLs - it seems to expect to run that class in complete isolation without any dependency on "external code" (ie, code residing in that VS project/solution where the class resides).

Reason for this capability : All project files are marked as class libraries and sometimes I just wish to check if a particular set of methods/data/logic will work as expected with the current code base. In Java, I'd quickly write it in the main method and execute that class to see how it goes prior to committing it to version control. However, there seems to be no easy way to trigger the execution of "my class" with all dependencies correctly handled by csc.exe

Current Solution: Add this testing code to the unit test project and select to execute that particular "test" so as to check if the idea seems to work fine (it may fire DB calls or webservice class etc., and not be purely a logical flow of computation). This seems to work fine and is my current way of doing things. I was wondering if the Main method was even possible/recommended.

Question : Is this even possible with C#/VS or not recommended?

Update: I can't add a console project just to achieve this since the addition of projects is tightly controlled by the source control team. Hence the question of the Main method 'hack' for quick and dirty checks/tests.

Answer 1

Your project type needs to be Console Application for it to "recognize" a Program.Main method, not Class Library. The intent is for a Class Library to be an encapsulated grouping of functionality that can only be accessed by a project that is set up to allow for user input. Those can be a Console Application, Web project (MVC/API), or Desktop (WPF).

If you just want to execute a test against the code within a Class Library project, you can also create a Unit Test project, add a reference and execute very explicit tests against the functionality you're looking to achieve.

You can find out the differences between the different project types by examining the .csproj files in your favorite text editor.

Answer 2

In Visual Studio go New->Project then select Console Application (in Windows\\Classic Desktop in VS2015). This gives you a basic console application with...

static void Main(string[] args)
{
}

setup and ready to go. However for simply trying out code you may find this cumbersome (creating a new project and folder just to test code) and for testing code (that doesn't rely on existing libraries) you could use something like .NET Fiddle...

https://dotnetfiddle.net/

Where you can quickly create and test code there and run it via the browser.