Read text file resource from .net library

Question

I have a library that is used in a wpf mef application. Included in this library are a number of files. One of them is app.js.

How do I read app.js from the library as a string.

PS: From an earlier code, I can access/create a bitmap image using the code below:

private readonly BitmapImage _starImageSmall = new BitmapImage(new Uri("pack://application:,,,/MyFirstExtension;component/Star_16x16.png", UriKind.Absolute));

After generating the Uri, how do I get access to the stream as the system stream?

Answer 1

This block of code has never failed me:

private Stream GetEmbeddedResourceStream(string resourceName)
{
    Assembly assy = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
    string[] res = assy.GetManifestResourceNames();
    for (int i = 0; i < res.Length; i++)
    {
        if (res[i].ToLower().IndexOf(resourceName.ToLower()) != -1)
        {
            return assy.GetManifestResourceStream(res[i]);
        }
    }
    return Stream.Null;
}

Three things to note with this code block:

• This block works on the executing assembly ( Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly() ), not the calling assembly or any other assembly; change it to suit your needs (see below for alternative)
• resourceName should be the filename only (eg If your file is saved at resources/myRes.bin , you call GetEmbeddedResourceStream("myRes.bin")
• Your resource must have its "Resource Type" set to "Embedded Resource"

---

If, however, you want the code to work on arbitrary assemblies, you can change the code block to:

private Stream GetEmbeddedResourceStream(string resourceName)
{
    return GetEmbeddedResourceName(resourceName, Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
}
private Stream GetEmbeddedResourceStream(string resourceName, Assembly assembly)
{
    string[] res = assembly.GetManifestResourceNames();
    for (int i = 0; i < res.Length; i++)
    {
        if (res[i].ToLower().IndexOf(resourceName.ToLower()) != -1)
        {
            return assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(res[i]);
        }
    }
    return Stream.Null;
}

Answer 2

You can open resource streams in an assembly with Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream . If you are unsure of the name of the resource, you can enumerate the resources names with Assembly.GetManifestResourceNames .