GameDevWare.Dynamic.Expressions 3.0.0

Licensing

This package is available for purchase on the Unity Asset Store. A valid license is required for use in any project.

Overview

This package delivers a C# parsing and expression execution API designed for Unity compatibility across multiple platforms. Implemented in C# 3.5 with no external dependencies, it maintains broad compatibility with Unity versions and .NET frameworks.

Verified Platform Support

• iOS
• Android
• WebGL
• Windows/macOS/Linux

The solution should function on additional Unity-supported platforms.

Important Note for AOT Platforms (iOS, WebGL, IL2CPP):
Projects targeting AOT compilation require inclusion of a link.xml file in the project root directory. Refer to Unity's documentation on IL code stripping for additional context.

Core API

• CSharpExpression

• Evaluate
• Parse
  • AotCompilation
• RegisterFunc
• RegisterForFastCall (performance optimization)

Implementation Examples

Expression Parsing:

var mathExpr = "Math.Max(x, y)";
var exprTree = CSharpExpression.Parse<double, double, double>(mathExpr, arg1Name: "x", arg2Name: "y");
// Returns Expression<Func<double, double, double>>  
var expr = exprTree.CompileAot();
// Returns Func<double, double, double>  

Expression Evaluation:

var arifExpr = "2 * (2 + 3) << 1 + 1 & 7 | 25 ^ 10";
var result = CSharpExpression.Evaluate<int>(arifExpr); 
// Returns 19

Parser Specifications

The parser implements C# 4 grammar with support for:

• Arithmetic, bitwise, and logical operations
• Conditional and null-coalescing operators
• Method/delegate/constructor invocation
• Property/field access and indexers
• Type operations (casting, conversion, is/as/typeof/default)
• Expression grouping and checked/unchecked contexts
• Type aliases and null-conditional operators
• Power operator (**)
• Lambda expressions
• Literal values (true, false, null)

Type Support:
• Nullable types
• Generics
• Enumerations

Note: Type inference is not implemented - explicit generic parameter specification is required.

Type Resolution

For security, the parser restricts type access to:
• Argument types
• Primitive types
• Math, Array, and Func<> types

Additional types require specification through the typeResolver parameter:

var typeResolver = new KnownTypeResolver(typeof(Mathf), typeof(Time));
CSharpExpression.Evaluate<int>("Mathf.Clamp(Time.time, 1.0f, 3.0f)", typeResolver);

Full namespace access can be enabled via AssemblyTypeResolver:

var typeResolver = new AssemblyTypeResolver(typeof(UnityEngine.Application).Assembly);

Security Note: System.Type operations will throw exceptions unless System.Type explicitly added as a known type.

AOT Compilation Support

The package enables compilation and execution of System.Linq.Expression expressions in AOT environments:

var expr = (Expression<Func<Vector3>>)(() => new Vector3(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f));
var fn = expr.CompileAot();
// Returns Func<Vector3>

AOT Environment Requirements (iOS, WebGL and most console platforms):

1. Only Expression<Func<...>> delegate types supported
2. Only static methods using primitives arguments receive optimization
3. All referenced members must be visible to Unity's static analyzer to prevent eager IL code stripping
4. ⚠️ Required link.xml configuration (see above)

See Also

• AOT Exception Patterns and Hacks
• Ahead of Time Compilation (AOT)

Platform-Specific Considerations

WebGL and iOS:
• Func<> lambdas limited to 4 arguments
• Instance methods incur reflection overhead
• Value types experience moderate boxing

Preparation for AOT Execution:

AotCompilation.RegisterFunc<int, bool>(); // Enables Func<int, bool> in expressions

Unity 2020.3.2 Workaround:

#if ((UNITY_WEBGL || UNITY_IOS || ENABLE_IL2CPP) && !UNITY_EDITOR
GameDevWare.Dynamic.Expressions.AotCompilation.IsAotRuntime = true;
#endif

Performance Optimization

Method invocation performance can be enhanced through signature registration:

// Supports up to 3 arguments
AotCompilation.RegisterForFastCall<MyClass, ReturnType>();
AotCompilation.RegisterForFastCall<MyClass, Arg1Type, ReturnType>();
// Additional signatures...

Example:

public class MyVectorMath
{
    public Vector4 Dot(Vector4 vector, Vector4 vector);
    public Vector4 Cross(Vector4 vector, Vector4 vector);
    public Vector4 Scale(Vector4 vector, float scale);    
}

// register Dot and Cross method signatures
AotCompilation.RegisterForFastCall<MyVectorMath, Vector4, Vector4, Vector4>();
// register Scale method signature
AotCompilation.RegisterForFastCall<MyVectorMath, Vector4, float, Vector4>();

Development Roadmap

• Expression serialization (completed)
• Void expression support (completed)
• Future enhancements:

• Delegate construction from method references
• Generic type inference
• C#6 syntax support
• Extension method support
• Type/list initializers

Feature suggestions may be submitted to support@gamedevware.com.

Roadmap

You can send suggestions at support@gamedevware.com

• ~Expression serialization~
• ~Void expressions (System.Action delegates)~
• Parser: Delegate construction from method reference
• Parser: Type inference for generics
• Parser: Full C#6 expression syntax
• Parser: Extension methods
• Parser: Type initializers, List initializers

Changes

2.3.0

• fix: fixed netcore related error with enumerable.empty<T>
• feature: added optional global parameter to all CSharpExpression methods to allow specify global object for expression.
• test: removed flaky test with double.tostring() comparison
• fix: fixed typo in arg4Name in CSharpExpression.ParseFunc{4} and CSharpExpression.ParseAction{4}

2.2.9

• fix: fixed error with instantiated generic method on types (which is impossible in normal conditions, but fine for Unity AOT runtime).

2.2.8

• feature:made AotCompilation.IsAotRuntime is mutable, this will allow to signal for AOT runtime and suppress further checks.

2.2.7

• feature: added public CSharpExpression.Format method for SyntaxTreeNode

2.2.6

• changed order or SyntaxTreeNode fields and added "original C# expression" field to parsed AST.
• refactored C# expression rendering to support null-propagation expressions, type aliases (int, byte, object ...),
• renamed "Render" methods to "FormatAsCSharp". Now it is "formatting"
• moved c# "formatting" methods to CSharpExpression class
• mark old "Parse" functions as errors
• mark old "Render" methods as obsolete
• renamed CSharpExpressionFormatter to CSharpExpressionFormatter
• fixed indexer experssion rendering
• refactored NameUtils to properly render C# type names

2.2.5

• renamed ParseTreeNode.Lexeme to .Token
• renamed few member of TokenType for better clarity
• added documentation file in Unity project assets
• changed 'propertyOrFieldName' attribute to 'name' in SyntaxTreeNode
• renamed PropertyOfFieldBinder to MemberBinder
• changed 'PropertyOrField' expression type to 'MemberResolve' in SyntaxTreeNode
• added backward compatibility checks in all related classes

2.2.4

• added protection against wrong expressions like 'a b' which later bound as 'b'
• fixed some tokenization errors:
• • 'issa'scanned as 'is'[Operator] and 'sa'[Identifier], now as 'issa'
• • '.09' scanned as '.'[Operator] and '09'[Number], now as '0.09'
• • '0.1x' scanned as '0.1'[Number] and 'x'[Identifier], now cause error
• added method calls on numbers (example 1.ToString())
• added short number notation (example '.9' for '0.9')
• added '@' prefix for identifiers (example '@is') https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/tokens/verbatim
• done small Tokenizer optimization (reduced string allocation during scanning)

2.2.3

• added ExpressionPacker type. This type allows packing/unpacking expressions into primitive structures (Dictionaries, Arrays...). These structures could be serialized and wired by network or stored for future use.
• added better error message for some binding cases
• denying call to 'Type.InvokeMember' if 'Type' is not within 'known types'.

2.2.2

• fixed conditional operator (a ? b : c) parsing with method call in place of 'b'

2.2.1

• fixed IL2CPP compilation error due _Attribute interface complilation failure
• added few interfaces to AOT.cs file for better AOT coverage

2.2.0

Features

• added support for void expressions (Action<> delegates)
• added support of '.NET Standart 1.3' and '.NET Core 2.0' platforms

2.1.4

• Release version, no actual changes except readme.md

2.1.2-rc

Features

• added more descriptive message for member binding error
• added autodoc comments for public members
• hid ReadOnlyDictionary from public access
• removed Unity WebGL #if for unsigned types. Unity's bug was fixed.
• added support for generic types and generic methods
• added nullable types and ? suffix support

CSharpExpression.Evaluate<int?>("default(int?)"); // -> null

• added lambda expressions. Syntax is () => x and new Func(a => x)
• added support for expression's parameter re-mapping with lambda expression syntax:

CSharpExpression.Evaluate<int, int, int>("(x,y) => x + y", 2, 2); // -> 4

• added support for Func<> lambdas for AOT environments
• added additional constructor to Binder class

public Binder(Type lambdaType, ITypeResolver typeResolver = null);

• added ArgumentsTree.ToString() method
• added aliases for build-in types. Aliases resolved during binding phase inside Binder.Bind() method.

CSharpExpression.Evaluate<int>("int.MaxValue");

Bugs

• fixed error with wrongly resolved types (only by name) in KnownTypeResolver
• fixed bug with ACCESS_VIOLATION on iOS (Unity 5.x.x IL2CPP)
• fixed few Unity 3.4 related errors in code
• fixed 'new' expression parsed with error on chained calls new a().b().c()
• fixed some cases of lifted binary/unary/conversion operations
• fixed some AOT'ed operations on System.Boolean type
• fixed null-propagation chains generate invalid code
• fixed some edge cases of resolving nested generic types
• fixed error with types without type.FullName value
• fixed Condition operator types promotion
• fixed Power operator types promotion and null-lifting
• fixed enum constants threated as underlying types during binary/unary operations

Breaking changes in 2.0

• ParserNode renamed to ParseTreeNode
• ExpressionTree renamed to SyntaxTreeNode
• ExpressionBuilder renamed to Binder
• ITypeResolutionService renamed to ITypeResolver
• ITypeResolver.GetType removed
• ITypeResolver now could be configured with TypeDiscoveryOptions

1.0.1.11

• fixed error them creating nullable types via "new" keyword
• fixed Embedded Resource addressing problem on IL2CPP WebGL (localized error messages)
• fixed some cases of nullable types binding
• fixed Enum member resolution
• added Power(**) operator into C# syntax

CSharpExpression.Evaluate<int>("2 ** 2"); // -> 4

• added TypeResolutionService chaining for better KnownTypes re-use

1.0.1.10

• fixed error with nulled constants after first call for AOT-ted expression.
• added ToString() impl for ExpressionTree

1.0.1.9

• added Null-conditional Operators (example: a.?b.?.c)
• fixed array indexing expressions
• added array types support in type expressions ('convert', 'typeof', 'is' etc.)

Installation

Nuget:

Install-Package GameDevWare.Dynamic.Expressions

Unity:

Package at Unity Asset Store

Contacts

Please send any questions at support@gamedevware.com

License

Asset Store Terms of Service and EULA