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This command allows BASIC to call any .NET assembly and is useful when using third party applications. It usually takes the form:

CALLdotNET NameSpaceAndClassName, methodName, param SETTING ret [ON ERROR errStatment]


  • NameSpaceAndClassName is the “full” NameSpace (e.g.,MyNameSpace.MyClass),
  • methodName is the name of the .NET method/ function in this class (e.g., “myMethod”),
  • Param is any parameter (eg DynArray).


In order to use CALLdotNET, the .NET Framework and the dotNETWrapper.dll must be appropriately installed.

The dotNETWrapper is loaded dynamically at runtime; therefore, a compiled basic application has no dependencies on the .NET Framework. A slight delay may occur when calling the .NET method for the first time.

With regard errors that occur during the call at the BASIC level, the SYSTEM(0) variable may be used. The variable can have the following values:

Value  Description 
Not a Windows platform.
Cannot load the dotNETWrapper
Cannot get assembly
Cannot get Class
Cannot get Class
Cannot Create Instance
Unhandled Error in the .NET library

Before the CALLdotNET function is called, the .NET functions must be first created. This can be accomplished as below:

In C#:

001    using System;
002    using System.Windows.Forms;
003    namespace myNameSpace
004    {
005        public class Class1
006        {
007            public string sayHello(string str)
008            {
009            return “Thank you, I received : “ + str;
010            }
011        public Class1(){}
012        }
013    }


001    Namespace myNameSpace
002        Public Class Class1
003            Public Function sayHello(ByVal str As String) As String
004            Dim sAnswer As String
005            sAnswer = InputBox(str)
006            sayHello = sAnswer
007            End Function
008        End Class
009    End Namespace

It is important that the .NET project be created as a ‘Class Library’. If using the visual studio IDE, this option is selected when creating a new project. If using .NET SDK (instead of the IDE) to compile class libraries into a ‘DLL’ file, the ‘csc’ (C# Compiler) or ‘vbc’ (Visual Basic .NET compiler) command can be used from the command line:

csc /out:myNameSpace.dll /target:library sourcefile.cs

The name of the ‘.DLL’ created must be the same as the ‘namespace’ as used in the class library t locate the ‘dotNetWrapper.dll’ library:

After creating the library, place it in the same private directory as the application. (i.e. the same directory as the jBASE BASIC executable that will call the class) This is a requirement of the .NET paradigm and not jBASE. The directory should also be in the PATH environment variable. 

After creating the functions above, the function can be used as:

CALLdotNET "myNameSpace.Class1","sayHello", p SETTING ret
CRT ret


 BASIC code using the ON ERROR would look like this:

0009     CRT "Please enter a Parameter : "
0010     INPUT param
0011     CALLdotNET ns.className, methodName, param SETTING ret \
0012     ON ERROR GOSUB errHandler
0013     CRT "Received back from .NET : " : ret
0014     STOP
0015 * errHandler:
0017     err = SYSTEM(0)
0018     BEGIN CASE
0019     CASE err = 2
0020         CRT "Cannot find dotNETWrapper.dll"
0021     CASE err = 3
0022         CRT "Class " :ns.className : " doesn't exist !"
0023     CASE err = 5
0024         CRT "Method " : methodName : "doesn't exist !"
0025     END CASE
0026     RETURN

Go back to jBASE BASIC.

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