Getting started with XlBridge in C#

Writing your first server

  1. Create a new console app and go to the project directory

     dotnet new console XlBridgeTest
 cd XlBridgeTest

  2. Add relevant NuGet packages

     dotnet package add XlBridge.GrpcConnect.Native

  3. Add a file CustomFunctions.cs with the following content:

     namespace XlBridgeTest 
 {
     public class CustomFunctions
     {
         public static double MyAdd(double foo, double bar)
         {
             return foo + bar;
         }
     }
 }

  4. Replace the content of Program.cs with:

    This file uses the new top-level statements style available from C# 9.0. It needs to be adjusted for use with older versions of C# using namespace, class and a Main method.

     using System;
 using XlBridgeTest;
 using XlBridge.Integration;

 var testServer = new BridgeServiceBuilder()
     .AddFunctions.FromType<CustomFunctions>()
     .CreateNativeGrpcServer();

 testServer.Start();

 Console.WriteLine("Server is started. Press Enter to quit.");
 Console.ReadLine();

 await testServer.ShutdownAsync();

  5. Start the server

     dotnet run

  6. After a few seconds, there should be a new formula MYADD available in Excel. Edit a cell and enter:

     =MYADD(20,22)

  7. If all went well, the cell should now display 42.

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