使用单独的DLL的类库中缺少DLL

Question

In C# .NET 4.0 I am creating a class library / DLL that I plan to reuse in many other projects. This class library will use several DLLs itself. For example, the class library I am creating may reference several DLLs like:

ServerConnectorLibrary references:
Lib1.dll
Lib2.dll
Lib3.dll

When I build this, I get ServerConnectorLibrary.dll as the output in the bin\\Debug folder.

What I want now is to use this ServerConnectorLibrary.dll in other projects. However, when I add the DLL to my new projects and run I get the following error:

FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly "Lib1.dll".

If I add Lib1.dll to the bin\\Debug folder of my new project, the problem is not solved.

Answer 1

You may be able to combine all of your dependencies into a single assembly. Here is an old example on CodeProject.

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/9364/Merging-NET-assemblies-using-ILMerge

There is also a StackOverflow thread here...

How do I merge multiple .net assemblies into a single assembly?

Otherwise, make sure the properties for each dependency is set to copy local and then include the dependencies along with your library. These are DLLs, so they are dynamically linked at run-time, unlike older C++ and C libraries that might be statically linked.