Overview

PowerShell is the de facto standard  for SharePoint automation and scripting nowadays. But there are several competitors for the .NET platform, one of them is CS-Script.

According to the official site information:

CS-Script is a CLR (Common Language Runtime) based scripting system which uses ECMA-compliant C# as a programming language. CS-Script currently targets Microsoft implementation of CLR (.NET 2.0/3.0/3.5/4.0/4.5) with full support on Mono.

CS-Script is an open-source initiative that is distributed under the license agreement, which can be found here. However commercial support is also available.

CS-Script combines the power and richness of C# and FCL with the flexibility of a scripting system. CS-Script can be useful for system and network administrators, developers and testers. For any one who needs an automation for solving variety of programming tasks.

CS-Script could be used for solving variety of programming tasks such as:

• analysing and adjusting system configuration
• extending functionality of a software system with flexible scripting
• configuring development or testing environment
• automating software batch build
• automating testing, and collecting test results

CS-Script In Action

So, lets take a look at different examples of using Script C# with SharePoint  and get started with the classic example of printing the greeting.

Example 1. Hello World

Running it via command-line  using CS-Script engine executable (eg. csc.exe) gives us the the following results

Points to note:

Since it is running under SharePoint 2010, the following directives should be specified:

• //css_host  [/version:<CLR_Version>] [/platform:<CPU>]
  – used to force the script to be compiled and executed against legacy CLR and alternative CPU architecture on Windows x64
• //css_dir <path> – include assemblies from SharePoint directory into script and assembly probing

Example 2. Reference another C# script

In  this example is demonstrated how to reference another C# script

Points to note:

• //css_import<file> [, preserve_main][, rename_namespace(<oldName>, <newName>)] – reference the method ‘ForEachWebPartOnPage’ of a WebPartManagerExtensions.cs

Example 3. Reference library

In  this example is demonstrated how to expose classes in an assembly CustomSharePointLibrary.dll

Points to note:

//css_reference <file> –  load the assembly at execution time

References

CS-Script Project Home