This has caused me a day's worth of work at this point. In visual studio I can add a reference to a custom-made .dll file. Once the reference has been added, I can call the .dll file:
someClass_inDll sc = new someClass_inDll();
sc.someVoid_in_dll();
Simple, right? No assembly use, invoking etc. needs to be done. I would like to be able to do this exact same thing using CodeDom! So, assume I have a custom .dll file (already made and on my hard drive), I have been adding the full path to said dll file to the list of codedom references. However, the actual .dll file is not being compiled with my project (as it is with visual Studio).
Can someone please tell me why this is? It's making no sense to me what so ever.
I do NOT want to add the .dll file as an embedded resource because the only way I could call functions in the dll file would be to invoke it which is something I'd rather not do for personal reasons.
I really appreciate the help everyone!
Thanks,
Evan
I am not sure I understand what you are asking, but here goes...
Visual Studio is copying all of your references into the output directory that are set to "Copy Local" in your .proj file AFTER compilation. The compiler itself is not concerned with the deployment of your dependencies, this is what msbuild is for.
So, when you add a reference to the CompilerParameters of your provider, it will use the reference to build the executable, but you will have to copy it yourself.
Related
At the moment of creating a project of type "Library of Classes, usually one can generate a dll when compiling, but how could I generate a dll without losing others that I already have included?
I explain with an example: It turns out that Nuget downloaded an S22.Imap dll with the one I worked with, later I generated the dll in the traditional way that I explained in the beginning, but when I wanted to work with dll in another computer, I got errors that were not I found functions that contained the S22.IMAP dll. So to solve this problem, I had to copy the dll of my project, S22.IMAP in an additional way in a specific path of the other computer.
My question is:
How could you generate a dll that includes the ones included in the project you were working with?
All the referred 3rd party dlls (S22.Imap.dll in your example) will be copied to the output folder together with your own dll file (let's say a.dll) when you build your project. That means you should always copy them together (S22 + a.dll) to the place you want to refer them, on another computer/folder/place.
If you really want to make them only one file (although it is not recommended), you can set the S22 one as some "nested resource". Then you will get only one a.dll file and the S22 one is inside the a.dll. See below page for some reference:
Embedding one dll inside another as an embedded resource and then calling it from my code
AND, ILMerge is some tool that can help you do so.
In general, you don't. A DLL is a dynamic linked library, and you would normally only combine static libraries during a build. Here is an answer on the difference between static and dynamic linking.
Typically you would include all the DLLs you need in the installer package. If you use Visual Studio to create the installer, it can detect the dependencies for you. When you run the installer, all of the necessary DLLs are deployed. Nearly all commercial .NET software follows this pattern.
It is possible to merge an assembly into another assembly using a tool called ILMerge. This would be a very unusual thing to do, and could cause issues with intellectual property and code signing, so it is not recommended.
Has anyone experienced this or found a solution? I have tried the following:
Referencing the output dll directly without moving it
Uninstalling the output dll from the GAC
Neither option made a difference. Please note that the generated XML doc has the same name as the dll and is included with it.
Ah ha. I found the reason why this was occurring.
If you referencing your ILMerge project within Visual Studio (i.e. as Add Reference -> Project) then Intellisense will not use the generated XML doc.
To solve: In your post-build step copy your output files to a common directory (e.g. Reference Assemblies) and then link against the DLLs. You can still have the project in the solution, however you must setup the project dependencies so that it will build if you have made changes.
HTH,
This must be a really stupid question, but I'm still very green when it comes to C#.
Anyway, I've got a DLL and I'm importing it with a line like this:
[DllImport(#"MyCoolDll")]
I've lifted this straight from the demo app provided by the vendor, but it keep complaining that it can't find the DLL. The actual error (from Visual Studio 2010) is like this:
Unable to load DLL 'MyCoolDll': The specified module could not be found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007007E)
I've tried placing the compiled DLL in the bin/debug and bin/release folders. I've even tried copying it to system32, but nothing seems to work.
Any ideas?
Your DLL may have dependencies that also need to be loaded. Did you check for that?
I know you have to give the full file name. So
[DllImport(#"MyCoolDll.dll")]
It should work from the bin\debug or bin\release folders.
Update
This is where I learned how to import unmanaged dlls. If it was a test app that is working correctly, check it's bin\debug folder to see what is different from yours. Possibly an extra dll being referenced? Also check all the references within the sample app to make sure you are not missing any.
As far as I know you have to provide extension:
[DllImport(#"MyCoolDll.dll")]
I usually keep these dlls locally with the program binaries (so in bin\Debug for development)
The key for me was to look at the paths listed in the Visual Studio Build console output, to see where the binaries were being placed. Once I found that, I knew where to copy the unmanaged dll and it fixed the "Unable to load DLL" error.
I am getting an error back from a DLL saying it cannot create an instance of one of classes in my solution because it cannot find the assembly file.
If I am debugging a solution, do I need to put a copy of certain assembly files in other locations?
EDIT:
In my compiled solution all the DLLs (including the proprietary ones) all go in the app directory and it works fine. But I am trying to work out where the files should do in order to debug the solution.
Put the assembly in question in 1) the same directory, or 2) in the GAC, or 3) use AssemblyBinding to define the specific path that the .NET framework.
MSDN link: using AssemblyBinding to define the referenced assembly path
I think you have forgotten to add reference of the assembly to the project.
Add the reference, and try again.
Read more here -> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/7314433t%28VS.80%29.aspx
If they are in your references list, try right-clicking the problem reference in the solution explorer and selecting "properties". There is one property called copy local. Make sure that is true. Then when you build, a copy of that dll will be in your bin folder.
You can add an event handler to AssemblyResolve to find out which library it tries to load. Some sample code and ideas can be get from this question.
Update
To find out, what is the best place for your project you should take a look into How the Runtime Locates Assemblies guide. Also to get a live view about where the framework searches for your needed dll you can use ProcessMonitor to see where it tries to catch it.
I am using a 3rd party API which is defined in 2 DLLs. I have included those DLLs in my project and set references to them. So far so good.
However, these DLLs have at least one dependent DLL which cannot be found at runtime. I copied the missing DLL into the project and set the 'Copy to output' flag but without success.
What should I be doing here to tell the project where it should find the dependent DLL?
Clarification
I tried adding a reference to the missing DLL but as it wasn't recognised as a .Net component. In desperation, I added it directly to the output folder but without success.
Finally, I installed the API on the PC and it all worked. The installation sets the PATH variable and the DLL is found in the installation folder. But how to tell the project to look in one of its internal folders?
It sounds like you need to better understand the third-party library and how it uses its own dependencies. If the installation of the API solves the problem, but copying the files manually does not, then you're missing something. There's either a missing file, or some environment variable or registry entry that's required. Two things that will really help you in this is the depends tool (which is part of the C++ installation) and procmon, which will tell you all the registry keys and files that get used at runtime.
If you're lucky, it's just a file that you're missing. If that's all it is, you can use the "Build Events" section of the project to copy the needed files to the right location on a successful build. If not, you're going to have to solve this some other way - either by requiring the API be installed, or rolling your own installation project.
How are you deploying? Just flat files? If so, it should work as long as the file ends up in the project output directory. Does it?
If you are using another deployment, you will need to tell that engine to include it. This is different for each of msi/ClickOnce/etc.
You can either slowly add the downstream dependencies as references to your project. This is cumbersome, and somewhat fragile
Or your could use a tool like "Depends.exe" from microsoft to inspect your top level assemblies and get a reference list to the dependencies.