I need to create a stand alone EXE of a solution. This solution contains two projects i.e:
A-project (set up as start)
B-project (A web services)
B-project uses a external DLL which is reside on same B-project folder.
Above solution runs perfectly after building it. Now i want to create a stand alone EXE. So that i can sell my product for commercial use (in my school).
To do this i have performed following points:
Add a new project(SETUP Project) in the solution with test name.
Now add project output and choose A-project from the project drop down.
Then i do the same for the B-project i.e. Add project output and choose B-project from the project drop down.
Check the .net framework 4 dependencies which was fine.
Build it.
Install it.
I went to the my program files directory and run test.exe with run as administrator, and try to open the web services URL.
I got to know that web services runs perfectly but when i enter the url it returns me Request error which happens when the method written in instance class didn't execute perfectly. In my project the method written in Instance classcalled the externall dll.
How should i link that dll with my EXE. so that it runs perfectly fine?
Should i change the path in code?
If you want to deploy one .EXE:
Add the dll that the Project B depend on as a Resource (right click on Add existing Item -> Select dll -> change build action to Embedded resources)
Do the same with Project A and Project B (i.e add them to your Setup.exe as Resources)
Then you need to implement the solution described here
Related
I have Visual Studio 2019.
I know we can build one project with multiple configurations, and have a dll per configuration, for example we can have one dll for the Debug configuration of our project and we can have one dll for the Release configuration of our project.
But my question is how to have multiple dlls for one project based on DefineConstants, for example one dll when we <DefineConstants>ML_HOOSHANG</DefineConstants> and have another dll for this project without define this constant?
Another question is how to package this project with hold all of these dlls per definition of our define constants?
Another question is, can I force Visual Studio (msbuild) to generate all dlls per build request?
Is UsingTask useful for this purpose? or not?
Is there anyway to change DefineConstants per UsingTask?
How to create multiple assets (dll) for one project with msbuild
depend on Constants value?
You may get some hint from this issue. Batch build in VS2019 is something that can help for your issue.
Possible direction:
Create one new project named TestBatchBuild. Right click Solution=>Configuration Manager and create new project configuration NewDebug and NewRelease.(Copy settings from Debug and Release)
Now right click solution=>batch build we can see:
Then let's edit the project file(xx.csproj) and we can find four PropertyGroup. Add <DefineConstants>ML_HOOSHANG</DefineConstants> to NewDebug and NewRelease PropertyGroup and Save ALL.
Now building with NewDebug equals to build with Debug+DefineConstants. And building with NewRelease equals to build with Release+DefineConstants. Now let's go batch build page, we can build four assemblies at one time. (Debug+nodef..., Debug+def...,Release+nodef...,Release+def...). Hope all above helps.
I've got an C# Project in Visual Studio, which has Console Application as Output Type.
But I also need a Class Library of this project for another solution.
Right now I have to switch the output type every time, but I wonder if it's possible to generate exe and dll at the same build-event?
Is there a post-build-event for this?
To my knowledge there is no possibility to change the output type after compilation. That being said, if would be possible to have two projects like Console and Library in your solution, which would use the same source code files but have different output types. That way you would have different outputs without any duplication of code.
it is generally possible to reference a .net exe assembly as it would be a class-library.
So you can just stick in creating an exe file and reference the exe (sounds strange, but works) in your other project.
This is the dialog for browsing for references. As you see you can select exe files.
But as commented it really depends on what your usecase is.
I don't recommend to ship an exe with an entry point to your customer hoping that the customer does not discover the exe. But what you could do about that is to conditionaly compile your entry point.
For example
class Program {
// This is the entry point of the EXE
public static void Main() {
#if DEBUG
// Start Debug Application
...
#else
// Shipped to client - Entry point disabled
return;
#endif
}
}
If there is a relevant reason to have a shipped exe and a shipped class library, I would refactor your solution like this:
(A) complete application (.sln)
(B) console-application (.csproj) which has a reference to (C)
(C) class library project (.csproj)
With that it is perfectly clear to others that there is an application that uses the library and the library itself.
Console Application is the type of your project. You can not change it.
What you can -and must- do is, carry your logic into a Class Library project and use your class library from any type of project you want.
You should compile your project to become a dll and then use this dll in a console application.
A possibility to achieve what you want is to manually run the msbuild on your post-build event of your project.
See: How do i build a solution programatically in C#?
or Building C# Solution in Release mode using MsBuild.exe
The usual solution for this is using a Solution with two projects:
a Class Library with all the code (which builds into a DLL)
an Console Application referencing the library whose Main just calls some function(s).
For more information, check the MSDN page on Solutions.
Codor suggested manually adding the files to the Console project, but one downside is that build settings are not shared between both versions, so you might get some inconsistency there.
I'm not really sure why people think it's not possible but it actually is.
The easiest way would be renaming the exe to dll Sounds stupid, I know. But it works in many cases. Also, as "Peter I" said a .NET exe can be imported as assembly in other projects. So you might not actually need a dll anyways.
Another way would be using C# command line as stated here: /out (C# Compiler Options)
You can use command command line options in Pre/Post build events Pre-build Event/Post-build Event Command Line Dialog Box
I have a similar requirement and couldn't find any definite answer in this post or anywhere. I currently have a class library and would like to create a console application project without copying any code. Ideally speaking there should be two projects, one for creating a console application and another for creating a class library. And this is what the visual studio also suggests. When I tried to run the class library, I got the below message.
It clearly asks us to add an executable project to the solution and add the reference to the library project.
Below are the steps to do this.
Right click solution -> Add new project -> Console App -> choose name -> ok.
Right click on the console project -> add reference -> In reference manager, click on the projects tab and select the other project(In my case this is the class library project, In case it is not listed just click on browse and select the .csproj file) -> ok.
Now to use the classes in the other project, simple do using LibraryProjectNameSpace
There we are. Bingo!!!!
Also as mentioned in the other answers it is not possible to have the same project generate both .exe and .dll. But you can have the same solution generate these two guys by having two projects. In this way there is no need to switch the output of the project every time.
FYI, I use visual studio 2017
I have a windows application (winForms). I would like to refactor it such that all functionalities are built to .DLL file so that when winForm is run, it will just call .DLL. In addition, I would be creating another .exe which is Console App so when a user wants to just "schedule task" it, he will create a config file that will run the console app, which when run will also call .DLL
I don't have much knowledge about refactoring and compiling projects to .DLL (I hope I am making sense)
I just want to know if I am correct on how I quite understand it for now:
Should I transfer all my functionalities from winForms to a class that will be compiled to .DLL? Or if I am wrong, what should I put in a .DLL class?
You should create a new project in your solution. Create a class library project in your solution in Visual Studio (or tool of choice, you did not specify what you are using so I assume VS).
To add a new project, right click your solution and select Add submenu, then New project.
From the categories menu on the left, select Visual C#, then Windows, and Class Library.
Then you should add a reference to this new class library project from your current WinForms project.
Right click References in your current WinForms project and select Add reference.
Then select Solution category on the left (VS2012), or Projects tab (VS2010) and Select your newly created class library project from there.
Then you can start moving classes from your current WinForms project to this new class library project. Class library project will be compiled as a dll and you will have access to all classes in this dll from your WinForms project.
Nothing dramatic is needed. Just Project + Properties, Application tab, change the Output type setting from Windows Application to Class Library. Done. You may have to declare a class public if you didn't already do that. You could remove your Program.cs source file since it won't be used anymore but that is entirely optional. A good reason to not remove it is keeping your project testable.
Fwiw, changing the Output type setting is not actually necessary, .NET doesn't distinguish between a DLL and an EXE at all. The CLR loads assemblies by their display name, it doesn't include a filename extension. You can add a reference to your EXE assembly in another project and it will work just fine.
So doing nothing at all already works :)
My Setup and Deployment project will copy both MyClient.exe, MyClient.Config files to the appropriate directories using the Setup.msi file.
I am trying to enhance the Setup.msi project so that user can enter the configuration values at run time and the setup program can update the file MyClient.Config. I have created a new project and added a windows Form in it with edit boxes. The project will create an application named Helper.exe
I followed the below link and implemented the Custom Actions functionality.
link
But the issue is Setup.msi is always starting the MyClient.exe instead of Helper.exe during the deployment.
Thanks in advance for your help
I'd suggest either using a different tool (this project type is removed from VS2012 and exposes very little of Windows Installer) or move the requirement from the installer to the application (first run configuration).
How can I have code-sharing between two projects without making a dll?
The issue is: I have a tool that syncs users & groups from LDAP to a database.
Now the tool is a windows service, but testing it as such is very difficult and time consuming.
Which is why I made a console application where I can test the LDAP syncing, and then just copy the respective sourcecode-files over to the service project.
But... keeping the common files in sync is a bit of a problem.
I don't want to make a dll, because this probably creates me a problem with
the 3rd project, a windows installer (for the service) where I have to use ExecutingAssembly path...
Is there a way to share the code without making a separate dll?
Automagic statical linking, so to say ?
How about adding a file as a link.
In Visual Studio right click on your console test app project -> select add existing file -> in the file add dialog navigate to files in your actual windows service project -> select the files you want to share -> and on add button select add as link option.
You can add a file to a project as a link. On the Add Existing Item dialogue the Add button has a drop down on its right. Use this to select "Add as Link":
Put the file as a solution item and add as a link to each project.
How about hand-modify the project files to point to the same source file?
Another option - put both projects in the same folder. Add a class to one, then in the other project add existing class and point to the class just created.
You could:
maintain the shared code in a separate project that produces a DLL and then use a tool such as ILMerge to turn the DLL & EXE into one assembly.
share the source-files between multiple projects, either by tweakiing your project files or doing something funky with your source-tree layout.
All that said, the best approach would be to bite the bullet and store the shared code in a shared assembly (DLL). What happens when you decide to, for example, expose this code via a WCF service? It starts getting more complicated then as you have 3 places that reference the same code files. Don't just think about what makes your life easiest now, think about what'll make your life (and that of anyone else who has to maintain the code) easier in the future as well! =)
Necromancing - As per Visual Studio 2017:
You can create a shared project, and then reference the shared project in another project.
It will use the framework-version and libraries from the project you reference the shared-project from. You can also use the same shared project in multiple projects, provided you get no conflict.
This is basically statical linking on a source-code level.
This also works with HTML&JavaScript-files (specifically, it works with publishing), but with HTML & JS files, you will run into problems while debugging...
It's under "Classical Windows Desktop", but you can also use it for .NET Core etc.
If you want to share functionality, you should use a DLL or similar.
Since what you want to share is the source, what you are essentially sharing is file sharing. So you can do that by making your projects reference external sources or you can have your source control do this for you.
If you are using Visual SourceSafe, you can make a link between two folders. VSS will make sure that they are treated as the same file.
I'm going to describe the setup we use to manage and test our Windows Service projects. While this doesn't answer the question of "sharing code without a DLL" (Unmesh's answer takes care of that), I think the OP probably doesn't realize how easy this is with a DLL. In any case, I'm hoping it will help someone.
Create a solution, LDAPSync. Create three projects in this solution:
LDAPSyncLib
LDAPSyncSvc
LDAPSyncTest
LDAPSyncLib is a DLL project that contains all of your business logic and main functionality.
LDAPSyncSvc is a Windows Service project that contains two classes, a service controller class that inherits from ServiceBase, and an Installer class for your service. This project has a "project reference" to LDAPSyncLib.
LDAPSyncTest is either a GUI application (WinForms, WCF, etc.) or a console application, depending on your needs. This project also has a "project reference" to LDAPSyncLib. Its sole purpose is to provide some interface which allows you to easily make the required calls into your business logic for testing purposes. In Visual Studio, set this as your "StartUp Project".
Now, when you run in debug via Visual Studio you will get a nice little GUI or command window that you can use to manually make test calls. When you install it as a Windows Service, the LDAPSyncSvc project's controller class will take over and handle all of the necessary service requests (start, stop, pause, etc.)
We have around 30 in-house Windows Service projects that we've been continuously managing, developing and testing for over a decade and this workflow has proved invaluable in quickly finding and fixing bugs when they arise. Best of luck with your project and I hope this helps some future Googlers.