Development in the .NET Environment
====================================
.. _Development_in_NET_:

C3D can run in the .NET environment. To develop applications in the .NET environment, you must use the wrapper supplied with C3D.

The C3D wrapper is a dll file *NetC3D.dll* built on the .NET Framework 4.5.2 platform in 32bit/64bit, Debug/Release configurations, and for the Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2022 development environments. The library is compiled with “Strong Name” signing enabled.

To use C3D in C# applications, follow these steps:

1. Select the *NetC3D.dll* file of the required configuration from the C3D distribution: 32bit/64bit, Debug/Release for one of the development environments: Visual Studio 2019, Visual Studio 2022.
2. Place the *c3d.dll* file from the same distribution, with the same configuration and development environment (32bit/64bit, Debug/Release, Visual Studio 2019, Visual Studio 2022), into the same directory as *NetC3D.dll*.
3. Add the *NetC3D.dll* file to the project under development: *References -> Add Reference -> Browse...*, then select the *NetC3D.dll* file.
4. Before calling functions from *NetC3D.dll*, you must enter the license key and signature. One possible way to input the key and signature is as follows:

.. code-block:: csharp
   
   System.String key = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("C3Dkey");
   System.String signature = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("C3Dsignature");
   NetC3D.ToolEnabler.EnableMathModules(key, signature);

where *C3Dkey* and *C3Dsignature* are environment variables that store the key and signature.