C# Adding a reference to a class in another project without referencing the project

Question

I have two projects:

• ProjectMain (class library)
• LibraryProject (class library)

ProjectMain is a class library that should only be compiled as a singular library, no referenced libraries. I require a static class reference from LibraryProject BUT I don't want the LibraryProject assembly to be compiled together with the ProjectMain assembly.

I've tried 'link references' in visual studio but this is no solution as the library assembly is always compiled with the main assembly.

There are clear standard solutions to this issue but I am severely limited by the existing implementation requirements. Only one DLL can be compiled without any of the dependent assemblies being in the execution folder, GAC, private path, reflection etc.

The exact limitations are as follows:

• Assembly executed in a sandbox from a third party provider, it only supports adding a single assembly with no direct references/reflection etc (it's horrible but my hands are tied)
• We would like to handle the code organisation as best possible which means following standard best practices, unfortunately, due to the above limitation that's proving difficult.

What I would like to know is if there is a way to reference a class within another project without also compiling/using that referenced classes assembly. Possibly a method where the compiler 'embeds' the referenced class at compile time.

Answer 1

If your sandbox does not allow loading other dlls in AppDomain, load it yourself by embedding it. You can use Costura.Fody for this purpose, it is easy to use/install, just reference it from nuget.

Of course, embedding it in every scenario is madness and often comes with completely obscure bugs, which often solvable only by enabling traces in regedit.

So, in your case I would create two projects:

MyDll.csproj //it is my original project, with perfect code design and etc. Lovely.

MyDll.Sandbox.csproj //this one is the same as MyDll.csproj, except it is compiled with additional Costura.Fody reference, into single dll (every reference is put inside)

This way you just need to maintenance that MyDll and MyDll.Sandbox files are the same.