I've got a C# Application that is 32-bit with a target x86 Installer. This application can be installed an run on x64 machine no problem. However, a third party piece of hardware from a vendor (which is integrated into the software) now requires the use of a 64bit DLL whenever we install on x64 systems.
Currently I have placed both the 32bit DLL and 64bit DLL in my project. However the target x86 Installer obviously doesn't like the 64bit DLL.
Is it possible for me to create a solution whereby I can deploy the 64bit DLL and/or 32bit DLL and still only have one installer project? (I've looked at third party software called Advanced Installer but I do not know for sure if this will help me achieve the solution I need)
Or is it possible to create a generic Installer project?
Note: Two installer (x86 vs x64) deployments aren't feasible because we have a process for automatic updates I do not want to redefine. Maintaining one MSI file is important to me.
Advice is much appreciated.
Installing the file from a x86 MSI is not a problem with Advanced Installer, the following article explains how to do it:
http://www.advancedinstaller.com/user-guide/qa-OS-dependent-install.html
Also, if you have two versions of the DLL with the same name that need to be placed in the folder you should look here: http://www.advancedinstaller.com/user-guide/qa-install-file-with-same-name.html
However, you should first check if your application can correctly load the x64 DLL, as the guys mentioned in their comments.
Related
Introduction
I'm working on a .net project, in which I'm using some 32-bit version DLLs. The list of DLLs are:
System.*
Microsoft.*
AWSSDK.*
Npgsql.dll
Newtonsoft.Json.dll
Some other dlls from other vendors
(The list of DLLs is actually too long to be attached in this post without making it too long.)
Requirement
I require 64-bit version DLLs only and at the moment, I only have 32-bit version DLLs in our hand.
Things that I have tried
I verified the DLLs' version using a tool named SigCheck.
I tried to find/convert the DLL version using the following methods:
I searched on the internet and NuGet Package Manager but, I was not able to find 64-bit DLLs.
I tried recompiling the project to 64 bit by changing below setting under project properties:
- Build -> Platform Target -> x64
After compilation, the project DLL got converted to 64-bit. However, the remaining project DLLs' version didn't change.
Question
I would be grateful if someone could share documentation links/steps to convert 32-bit version DLLs to a 64-bit version?
or
Could someone please send us a link to find recompiled 64-bit version of the given DLLs?
Please note that I'm using .NET framework 4.6
Managed .Net dlls are usually platform agnostic. So for most of the libraries you do not need to worry about it, just use nuget to refer to the libraries and you should be good to go. The JIT compiler will take care of compiling the assemblies to 64/32 bit depending on the platform.
The platform target you specify when compiling a dll only sets a flag in the dll. This flag can be changed with CorFlags, but if it has a 32-bit flag it might be for a reason.
The big problem usually occurs when you need to use native assemblies (i.e. c++ dlls). These need to be platform specific. The best solution is to get 64-bit versions of these DLLs, but you would need to get them from the vendor of the libray and update the references in your projects. The most common workaround if you can not get a 64-bit version is to run the library in a separate 32-bit process.
I've read many questions and answers indicating that if I want to link my C# project against native libraries, I can't use AnyCPU platform target but must make separate 32- and 64-bit builds, each linked against the native DLL of the appropriate bitness.
This makes me wonder how the .NET Framework assemblies themselves are, or at least appear to be, built for AnyCPU. That is, when adding a reference to my GUI application, why don't I have to pick the 32-bit or 64-bit version of System.Windows.Forms? I thought this might just be some Visual Studio magic that would resolve to the appropriate GAC subdirectory (GAC_32 or GAC_64), but I searched for System.Windows.Forms.dll in the GAC and found it in:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Windows.Forms\v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Windows.Forms.dll
Note the "GAC_MSIL". So how does this DLL manage to wrap a native 32-bit API yet remain linkable in a 64-bit application? And why can't I use a similar strategy to make a single C# DLL that links against a native 32-bit library yet remains runnable in 64-bit mode?
Option 1: In GAC you may register 2 versions of assembly one 32 and one 64 bit with exactly same names. Oracle DB Driver for .NET uses this strategy.
Option 2: With your assembly that will be AnyCPU deploy two versions of native DLL and choose proper DLL at runtime (SQLite works like that). As it turns out .NET Framework is intelligent enough to load proper version of native DLL via P/Invoke (Using a 32bit or 64bit dll in C# DllImport)
I had the same problem and ended up using Fody Costura
DLL Files will be shipped as embedded ressources and the lib takes care of the bitness.
You could find an example for SQLite here
The problem I have encountered was that your application needs to have access to the Windows Temp folder to create the assemblies from the ressource. If you dont need it, you could disable it using a config setting createtemporaryassemblies
I've tried looking through the answers for related questions, but haven't found anything that isn't a few years old (unsure if they are still the go-to answer) or that answers my question fully.
Requirements:
I'm developing a C# application that is to run on BOTH 32-bit and 64-bit computers. My client does NOT want to create two different releases based on x86 vs x64.
We're using SQLite, VS2012, and .NET 4.5. Here are the available DLLs for SQLite: http://system.data.sqlite.org/index.html/doc/trunk/www/downloads.wiki
Unfortunately, the DLLs are split into 32-bit or 64-bit releases.
Questions:
Is it possible to include both DLLs and switch over them based on processor? How do I do this?
I've read a bit about the GAC, and from what I've read, it's a local solution. To implement this for my application I'd have to install the DLLs to the GAC for every installation, correct?
Can I force the program to run in 32-bit mode in a 64-bit environment, thus losing the 64-bit advantages but being able to run my program in both environments without issue?
Some possible answers that I'm unsure would work for my situation:
See most recent answer (third one down): 64-bit SQLite.dll and Any CPU
The answer from 2012 seemed promising, but the first comment on that answer dashed my hopes: Options for using System.Data.SQLite in a 32bit and 64bit C# world
Yes. Just use the NuGet package System.Data.SQLite. It will install an x86 and x64 subdirectory into your project and, when compiled, into your bin. The 32 bit and 64 bit interop DLLs are copied into those and selected appropriately at runtime based on your CPU. So you build with "Any CPU" selected and can run your application on 32 or 64 bit Windows.
At http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh846498.aspx, it states: "Set the Active solution platform in Visual Studio to one of the following options. C#, Visual Basic: ARM, x86 or x64"
Does this mean that I can't create a solution that will run on all of these devices/scenarios? I want my app to run on tablets, laptops, and desktops, both x86 and x64... "AnyCPU" is not an option?
"AnyCPU" doesn't mean you'll run on ARM. It's used for code that will run as either x86 or x64 and so wouldn't include ARM.
However, if you're depending on third party libraries (and especially ones that include unmanaged code) you will often find that you need to pick specifically between x86 and x64 in order to operate with the specific version of the interop library you reference.
That said, x86 apps will run fine on an x64 machine, so you only need differentiate between x86 and ARM.
If you create an app using the WinRT runtime, you should be able to cross-compile for ARM and x86, but it's possible that the Bing Maps API doesn't currently support WinRT.
I have a solution where the executable's target platform was initially set to x86, many other projects were set to AnyCPU, and included 3 projects in .Net 3.5 (everything else .Net 4.0). I presume this is why the installer wrote to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE registry key.
Recently, I fixed some issues and now all projects are .Net 4.0. Additionally, I set the executable target platform to AnyCPU. I found the application was now installed in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node.
[sidebar - we have p/invokes - DllImport attributes - that did not
specify a CallingConvention. When this was modified both in
managed and unmanaged code to specifiy Cdecl and __cdecl, we were able to
upgrade dependent projects to .Net 4.0 without receiving a PInvokeStackImbalance exception.]
We develop currently with VS2010 on Windows 7 (64-bit) machines.
My question is: Did the installer write to \SOFTWARE\ initially because some of the projects were .Net 3.5?
Also, if this application is intended to be installed on WindowsXP (32-bit is expected to be supported) machines, is the registry key problematic? Better yet, what should I look for in build options that ensures compatibility on WinXp 32-bit systems?
Only a 64-bit installer will avoid Wow6432Node on a 64-bit operating system. In a Setup project, that's set by the TargetPlatform property of the installer, it defaults to "x86". Change it to "x64" if you changed the C# EXE project's Target platform to AnyCPU. This will also ensure that your program is installed to c:\program files and not c:\program files (x86).
You will thus need to maintain two installers. Bit of a headache, you can avoid it by setting the C# EXE project's Target platform to x86 so both the installer and your program access the key in Wow6432Node.
The pinvoke problem is normally the other way around, 64-bit code has only one calling convention and there's no difference between cdecl and stdcall.