如何使用没有库但仅包含文件的nuget包

Question

I have installed a nuget package (say 'foo', version=1.0.4) in my C# project that only has some data files in it and no library, that's why it can't be referenced in the project. The files are located at the nuget package's default location ( {proj loc}\\packages\\foo.1.0.4\\lib\\net45\\ ). How can I properly access/read these files in C# code?

I know that I can access them by specifying their physical path on the disk, eg

string filePath = $"{Path.GetDirectoryName(Path.GetDirectoryName(System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()))}\\packages\\foo.1.0.4\\lib\net45\\bar.ttf";

But I don't want to do that as part of the path is hard-coded and that will change whenever a newer version of the 'foo' nuget package (ie this part '\\foo.1.0.4\\') is installed.

UPDATE: I've figured out a fully dynamic solution, Please see it at https://stackoverflow.com/a/54459367/1300390

Answer 1

Since your code is depending on an external resource which is subject to changes, you should consider creating a directory in your project root.

MyProj - MyTiffStorage (New folder)

And change your code accordingly to point to this directory. But in this case you need to be mindful to copy the files from the package (...lib\\net45) whenever there is an update to the package.

This way for your code there is always a single source of truth and so the code need not change each time there is an update. However as mentioned be mindful to copy the files manually.

Thank You

Answer 2

From your comment:

There can be a no. of scenarios where using nuget package can prove to be quite efficient and smart for non lib files, for example in our case, those files are generated by another project and a no. of other client projects need to include/use those files if they need them along with availing the opportunity to get their updated versions as and when they are available, and nuget package management provides a well organized mechanism in this case.

One solution is to create a thin layer library with an interface to access those files (package it in the same nuget).

An alternate route to consider if you are using git is to use submodules instead of nuget packages. If this is viable depends on your specific workflow.

Answer 3

After playing around with different approaches and attempts, finally I figured out the following one that quite nicely solves this problem:

The files from the nuget package's default download folder can be accessed/read without defining any varying hard-coded part as:

string appDir = Path.GetDirectoryName(Path.GetDirectoryName(System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()));
string filePath = Directory.GetFiles(appDir, "baar.ttf", SearchOption.AllDirectories).First();

UPDATE:

To make it a bit more faster, the search space can be reduced further to the 'packages' folder only, as:

string nugetPackagesDir = $"{Path.GetDirectoryName(Path.GetDirectoryName(System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()))}\\packages";
string filePath = Directory.GetFiles(nugetPackagesDir, "baar.ttf", SearchOption.AllDirectories).First();