Shipping .Net Application

Hello All,

I have developed a tool using c# 9, .Net 3.5, which has got something to do with our business, electricity distribution

The solution has got 1 EXE and 4 DLL. In the development environment (VS 2005), The EXE project make references to the DLL projects by adding references.

as in VC++ projects I thought, this adding references in .net projects, is something like static linking of DLL. so i just gave the EXE to friend of mine to use. And i his machine the exe is reporting some assembly missing error

Could some one please tell what should i need to do, i order to ship the application to other machines?

Regards

RK

The statement "statically linking a DLL" makes absolutely no sense at all. DLL stands for "Dynamic Link Library". You cannot statically link in C#, and you cannot statically link a DLL in C++ either. You can only statically link a static library (usually a .lib file). So, you need to distribute your DLL's with the application,.

Hello BigED,
Thank you very much for educating me..... In fact i meant what you have said, but i havent used proper technical terms..... once again thanks...

But still I havent got answer for my query, anybody please......
Regards

Investigate creating a Setup project within the solution. It's fairly straightforward and allows you to create a Setup.exe or App.msi to install your app. It will also take care of installing the correct .NET framework on the User's PC too.

Right click the Solution in the Solution Explorer and choose Add / New Project, you should find 'Setup Project' under 'Setup and Deployment'....

You could also just zip the executable and referenced assemblies and send it off. The person receiving it can just unzip it into a directory and run the executable without problems. This is easy enough if it's just internal distribution. Otherwise I would look at developing a setup project like rliq suggested.

bscar, that is ok, providing the person installing already has the correct version of .NET installed on their machine. Also, a simple Zip does not give the option of adding short cuts to the start menu, desktop etc. Most users like these options as they can configure it the way they like it. It's ok to send a zip file to another developer like you and I, but to send it to a normal user and have them extract it into a suitable directory and the then click on the correct exe file maybe asking too much. At least the users that I know ;) (and love)

:)

Some of my end users need help just running the installer.

We ship using Click Once and still have issues from time to time.


rliq - depending on which version of VS you have, you can create an Installation Project and include the outputs from your app. In addition, you can then mark the FW as a prerequisite and it will make sure that it is installed before the user attempts to install your app. You may also want to look at ClickOnce publishing options, as that gives a simple interface and allows for automatic updates.

-tg