ILMerge alternative, how to embed application’s de

Question

As stated here im trying to embed the dlls in the exe application in order to just distribute one exe, but when i try to run my application on a xp machine with full .NET 4 installed it just crashes with no error, im placing the following code on the main method

[STAThread]
        static void Main()
        {
            AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += (sender, args) =>
            {
                String resourceName = "AssemblyLoadingAndReflection." + new AssemblyName(args.Name).Name + ".dll";

                using (var stream = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName))
                {
                    Byte[] assemblyData = new Byte[stream.Length];
                    stream.Read(assemblyData, 0, assemblyData.Length);
                    return Assembly.Load(assemblyData);
                }
            };

            Application.EnableVisualStyles();
            Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
            Application.Run(new frmrPrincipal());
        }

i have a folder named dlls where im placing

Functions.Shared.dll
Alex.UI.dll
Alex.Controls.dll

and im setting its Build Action to "Embedded Resource".

if i remove that piece of code and set the dlls to be included by click once installer it works fine. btw im Using .NET Framework 4 Full profile and VS2010 SP1

Answer 1

You might take a look at .NETZ, we used for WinForms application deployment along with ClickOnce.

Answer 2

I suspect you are trying to load a dll with unmanaged code. For managed dlls merely reading and loading the assembly in memory would do or you can load from a certain location without even reading. For mixed mode assemblies, I had success only by writing the bytes to a file and loading from its location.

class Program
{
    [STAThread]
    static void Main()
    {
        AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += (sender, args) =>
        {
            string assemblyName = new AssemblyName(args.Name).Name;
            if (assemblyName.EndsWith(".resources"))
                return null;

            string dllName = assemblyName + ".dll";
            string dllFullPath = Path.Combine(GetMyApplicationSpecificPath(), dllName);

            using (Stream s = Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(typeof(Program).Namespace + ".Resources." + dllName))
            {
                byte[] data = new byte[stream.Length];
                s.Read(data, 0, data.Length);

                //or just byte[] data = new BinaryReader(s).ReadBytes((int)s.Length);

                File.WriteAllBytes(dllFullPath, data);
            }

            return Assembly.LoadFrom(dllFullPath);
        };

        Application.EnableVisualStyles();
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
        Application.Run(new frmrPrincipal());
    }
}

where Program is the class name. To avoid chicken and egg problem, you have to ensure you declare the handler before accessing assembly and that you do not access the assembly members (or instantiate anything that has to deal with the assembly) inside the loading (assembly resolving) part. Also take care to ensure GetMyApplicationSpecificPath() is not any temp directory since temp files could be attempted to get erased by other programs or by yourself (not that it will get deleted while your program is accessing the dll, but at least its a nuisance. AppData is good location). Also note that you have to write the bytes each time, you cant just load from location just 'cos the dll already resides there.

Answer 3

I played with this recently, starting from this or a very similar piece of code, and I think the construction of the resourceName is wrong. Try putting a breakpoint at the beginning of the resolve method, and then calling GetManifestResourceNames() on the executing assembly to see what name it is actually giving your embedded resources.

I suspect it's probably "dlls.Functions.Shared" and so forth instead of "AssemblyLoadingAndReflection.Functions.Shared"

Answer 4

The jitter goes kaboom when it tries to jit the Main() method. AssemblyResolve isn't registered yet, chicken and egg problem. You can only use types in Main that are available, so you'll have to stay away from frmrPrincipal. Using a little helper method can solve that problem, but now you'll have to suppress inlining with [MethodImpl]. You are also shooting your foot by not allowing ngen.exe to do its job.

using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
...
    [STAThread]
    static void Main()
    {
        AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += (sender, args) =>
        {
            // etc..
        }
        AvoidJitterBombing();
    }

    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.NoInlining)]
    private static void AvoidJitterBombing() {
        Application.EnableVisualStyles();
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
        Application.Run(new frmrPrincipal());
    }