title: How to link a .so file to a managed DLL with mono
body: <p>I'm writing a program for embedded linux on an ARM processor in .net that uses mono to execute.  I have found that I can simply compile to either x86 or x64 architecture on my PC, copy the Debug directory over to linux, and run the program using mono myProgram.exe.  The program is working perfectly like this and mono seems to take care of the architecture mismatch.  This was true until today when I tried to incorporate an external native DLL.</p>
  
  <p>I have both an x86 and x64 bit architecture of the external DLL and both work on the desktop environment fine.  I have a shim class that uses [DllImport] to load the extern functions.  However, when I try this on embedded linux with Mono I am getting a BadImageFormat exception.  My guess is that Mono somehow transitions the compiled DLLs in the exe at start up but doesn't do the same for the external.</p>
  
  <p>Some other info:
  1. I don't have source for the native external library.  I have x86, x64, and a .so library.
  2. I have tried making a manage C++ shim that accesses the .so but can't get it to compile on the desktop since windows doesn't recognize the .so file.</p>
  
  <p>Some thoughts:
  1. Is there a way to embed the native DLL into a managed so that Mono will transition the native DLL too?
  2. Can I link the .so file to a managed C++ project?
  3. Is there a way to tell Mono to incorporate that Dll during execution?</p>
  
  <p>Ultimately I'm looking for a solution that is wrapped in the exe that allows me to simply run it like I did before and control the native system.</p>