C# (MSIL) into native X86 code?

Question

I would first like to say my goal is to convert MSIL into native X86 code. I am fine with my assembly's still needing the .net framework installed. NGEN is not what I want as you still need the original assembly's.

I came across ilasm , and what I am wondering is this what I want, will this make pure assembly code?

I have looked at other projects like mono (which does not support some of the key features my app uses) and .net linkers but they simple just make a single EXE with the .net framework which is not what I am looking for.

So far any research has come up with...you can't do it. I am really no sure as to why as the JIT does it when it loads the MSIL assembly. I have my own reasons for wanting this, so I guess my question(s) come down to this.

1. Is the link I posted helpful in anyway?

2. Is there anything out there that can turn MSIL into x86 assembly?

Answer 1

There are various third-party code-protection packages available that hide the IL by encrypting it and packing it with a special bootloader that only unpacks it during runtime. This might be an option if you're concerned about disassembly of your code, though most of these third-party packages are also already cracked (somewhat unavoidable, unfortunately.) Simple obfuscation may ultimately be just as effective, assuming this is your underlying goal.

One the major challenges associated with 'pre-jitting' the IL is that you end up including fixed address references in the native code. These in turn will need to be 're-based' when the native code is loaded for execution under the CLR. This means you need more than just the logic that gets compiled; you also need all of the reference context information necessary to rebase the fixed references when the code is loaded. It's a lot more than just caching code.

Answer 2

As with most things, the first question should be why instead of how. I assume you have a specific goal in mind, if you want to generate native code yourself (also, why x86? Why not x64 too?). This is the job of the JIT compiler - to compile an optimized instruction set on a particular platform only when needed, and execute it later.

The best source I can recommend to try and understand how the CLR works and how JIT works is taking a look at SSCLI - an implementation of the CLR based on the ECMA-335 spec.

Answer 3

Have you considered not using C#? Given that the output of the C# compiler is MSIL, it would make sense to develop on a different platform if that is not what you want.

Alternatively it sounds like NGEN does the operation you are wanting, it just doesn't handle putting the entire thing into an executable. You could analyze the resultant NGEN image to determine what needs to be done to accomplish that (note that NGENed images are PE files per the documentation)

Here is a link on NGEN that contains information on where the images are stored: C:\\windows\\assembly\\NativeImages_CLR_Bit for instance C:\\windows\\assembly\\NativeImages_v2.0.50727_86 . Note that .NET 3.0 and 3.5 are both part of 2.0.