CODEWITHSUNDEEP
visual-studiodllnuget
Harald Coppoolse
Harald Coppoolse

Reputation: 30512

Copy DLLs dependancy files to Main project

I have a visual studio solution (microsoft visual studio professional 2017) with a main project, that uses classes from a DLL project in the same solution.

The DLL is a "class Library (.NET framework).

Main project is (for my preliminary investigations) a console app. Future versions will be a WPF. I think that the problem appears on all applications that use DLLs that use other DLLs.

The DLL uses other DLLs from a Nuget package. In this case: SQLite. I want to hide to my main project that my DLL uses Sqlite. That makes it possible to change it in future versions to a different database, or maybe use entity framework to access the data.

So my main project only knows that it uses the DLL in the same solution. It does not know that this DLL uses other DLLs.

Problem: These other DLLS are not copied to my main application folder.

This has been asked before: Copying a DLL's dependencies in Visual Studio The answer says that you should use classes from the Sqlite to make sure the DLLs are copied. That is just what I wanted to prevent: users of my DLL should not have to know that this DLL uses SQLite

That question is 11 years old.

I wonder if Visual Studio has now a better solution for this.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 119

Answers (1)

Harald Coppoolse
Harald Coppoolse

Reputation: 30512

A method to solve the problem was given in Install and manage packages in Visual Studio using the NuGet Package Manager. It is not ideal, the main project still needs to know that the other projects use certain Nuget packages, but at least you don't have to edit the .csproj files, nor type command lines

  • MySolution
    • MyMainProject. Refers to MyDll
    • MyDll. Uses Nuget packages

In Visual Studio. Menu - Tools - Nuget Package Manager

The window that opens shows the installed Nuget packages. If you click on them, you can see on the right the projects that use these packages.

For all installed packages that your main program complains that it is missing at run time, check the box near MyMainProject. At the bottom click Install.

Alas, I'd rather have something in project MyDll that tells everyone who uses this DLL that they also need these Nuget packages. But for the time being I'll use this method.

Will check again in 11 years if there is any improvement.

Upvotes: 1

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