Where does NativeLibrary live in the IronOCR API?

NativeLibrary is a class in the IronSoftware.Deployment namespace, shipped in IronOcr.dll. It derives from Object and implements IDisposable, so wrap it in a using to release the native handle.

How do you call a native function from a loaded library in C#?

Construct a NativeLibrary with the library name, then call the generic LoadFunction with the export name to get a delegate of type T you can invoke. Use the non-generic LoadFunction to get the raw IntPtr address instead.

Do you need NativeLibrary to use IronOCR?

No. IronOCR loads its own Tesseract and Leptonica binaries internally. NativeLibrary is the seam for deployment scenarios where you load a native dependency yourself; see the Linux and Docker deployment guides for native packaging.

Class NativeLibrary

Inheritance

System.Object

NativeLibrary

Implements

System.IDisposable

Namespace: IronSoftware.Deployment

Assembly: IronOcr.dll

Syntax

public class NativeLibrary : Object

Loading a platform native library and resolving its exported functions at runtime runs through NativeLibrary. It wraps a handle to a loaded shared library (a .dll, .so, or .dylib) and hands back typed delegates for the entry points you name, so cross-platform native interop can sit behind one managed object instead of scattered DllImport declarations.

Construct one with new NativeLibrary(string), passing the library name or path; the constructor loads the binary through the platform loader. From the loaded library you resolve functions by name, and you dispose the object when finished. Most IronOCR code never touches this type directly, since the engine loads its own Tesseract and Leptonica binaries internally; it is the seam exposed for deployment scenarios where you load a native dependency yourself.

The members are deliberately few. Handle is the raw IntPtr to the loaded module for code that needs to call into the platform directly. LoadFunction(string name) resolves an exported symbol and returns its address as an IntPtr, while the generic LoadFunction<T>(string name) returns the entry point already marshaled to a delegate type T, which is the form most callers want. Loader is the protected LibraryLoader a subclass can override to change how binaries are located. Because the type implements IDisposable, hold it in a using so the native handle is released, and resolve every function you need from the single instance rather than reloading the library.

using IronSoftware.Deployment;

using var library = new NativeLibrary("mylib");
var compute = library.LoadFunction<ComputeDelegate>("compute");
int result = compute(21);

The Linux deployment guide covers native dependencies on Linux, the Docker guide handles container images, and the advanced installation guide explains the native package layout.

Constructors

NativeLibrary(String)

Declaration

public NativeLibrary(string name_in)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
System.String	name_in

Properties

Handle

Declaration

public IntPtr Handle { get; }

Property Value

Type	Description
System.IntPtr

Loader

Declaration

protected virtual LibraryLoader Loader { get; }

Property Value

Type	Description
IronSoftware.Deployment.LibraryLoader

Methods

Dispose()

Declaration

public void Dispose()

LoadFunction(String)

Declaration

public IntPtr LoadFunction(string name)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
System.String	name

Returns

Type	Description
System.IntPtr

LoadFunction<T>()

Declaration

public T LoadFunction<T>()

Returns

Type	Description
T

Type Parameters

Name	Description
T

LoadFunction<T>(String)

Declaration

public T LoadFunction<T>(string name)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
System.String	name

Returns

Type	Description
T

Type Parameters

Name	Description
T

Implements

System.IDisposable