CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#-4.0dllpatch
Landin Martens
Landin Martens

Reputation: 3333

Update a DLL without replacing it?

Lets say I have a C# DLL that is 100 MB. Now If I wanted to update this DLL as far as I know I would need to get another DLL by downloading it, delete the old DLL and then move this new one in its place to "update" the DLL (Lets assume the assembly's that reference this DLL do not care about the version of the DLL).

Is there a way to create a file with has all the classes and items that have changed (ONLY the stuff that has changed) and recompile the DLL to have these changes, or some how update the DLL with those changes?

The goal is to have a way to update the DLL through small patches without having to re-download the entire DLL.

Thank You

Upvotes: 0

Views: 331

Answers (1)

gbjbaanb
gbjbaanb

Reputation: 52689

You use the same mechanism version control systems use - SVN for example happily stores only the changes between different binary checkins, and on some dlls that can turn a mb dll into a few k. (obviously your mileage may change)

Generally binary diffs are not nearly as efficient as text, which is why its not often used, but it can work for some - it depends on how the binary is laid out, if the compilation process produces something that is generally the same, rather than completely different.

You'll need some code on the client to pull the changes down, either use the gnu patch tools, or use something like Windows BITS.

Upvotes: 1

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