The common library¶

library\Silverlight360.Common is a class library of what apps and libraries for the platform share, in namespace Silverlight360. Every project that imports msbuild\XboxSilverlight.targets references it: the targets add the project reference, so a project needs nothing of its own for it.

NativeBuffer	A pinned block of memory for the console's kernel and system library, with big-endian reads and writes, and the strings and pointers in returned buffers (Native code)
BigEndian	Big-endian reads and writes on byte arrays, and NUL-terminated UTF-16BE and single-byte strings
DebugLog	Debug output through the kernel's DbgPrint, which xenia logs as (DbgPrint) ... (Testing)
DirectionalFocus	Focus moved by the D-pad and the left stick outside a Pivot (Input and focus)
Screenshot	What the app shows, saved as game:\<name>.argb, for test scripts

using Silverlight360;

DebugLog.WriteLine("Loaded {0} items", items.Count);
using (NativeBuffer buffer = new NativeBuffer(16))
{
    // Hand buffer.Address to a native function that fills it in, then read it.
    uint size = buffer.U32(0);
    string text = buffer.Ansi(4, 12);
}

In XAML it's another assembly, so its namespace names it:

<UserControl xmlns:s360="clr-namespace:Silverlight360;assembly=Silverlight360.Common" ...>
  <Grid s360:DirectionalFocus.IsEnabled="True">

In the package¶

Silverlight360.Common.dll goes beside the app's own assembly, in its XAP and its package, and AppManifest.xaml lists it. Build-XboxApp.ps1 makes its native image with the app's own, from the manifest, and -AppOnly hands it out with them: it's part of the app's own files, not the runtime's. It's built with the app, from the SDK's source, so each app's copy is the one its image was made from.

A project that doesn't want it sets XboxCommonLibrary to false:

<XboxCommonLibrary>false</XboxCommonLibrary>

Class libraries of your own¶

A project with XboxLibrary set to true is a class library: its assembly and its XML documentation for IntelliSense (bin\<Configuration>\<AssemblyName>.xml, from its /// comments), and no XAP or package. It compiles against the same runtime profile as an app and references Silverlight360.Common too. An app references it with a ProjectReference, and its DLL then goes in the app's package beside the app's own:

<!-- MyLibrary.csproj -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <OutputType>Library</OutputType>
  <AssemblyName>MyLibrary</AssemblyName>
  <OutputPath>bin\$(Configuration)\</OutputPath>
  <XboxLibrary>true</XboxLibrary>
</PropertyGroup>
...
<Import Project="$(Silverlight360Dir)msbuild\XboxSilverlight.targets" />

<!-- MyApp.csproj -->
<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\MyLibrary\MyLibrary.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Build-XboxApp.ps1 -Project MyLibrary.csproj builds a library alone, with no package and so no native images: those are made in the package of the app that references it. A library handed out as a DLL needs Silverlight360.Common.dll beside it, which the app's build puts there when the app imports the SDK's targets.