BinaryFormatter deserialize gives SerializationException

Question

I'm getting an:

System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationException: Unable to find assembly 'myNameSpace, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null

When trying to deserialize some data in another program than the program I serialized it with.

After some googling I've found out that apparently this can only be done using a shared assembly.

However, my database is full with this serialized objects, and I need a utility program to get them out. Is there a way to override this behavior and just feed it the exact same class and force it do deserialize?

---

I already found this snippet, but I don't understand how and where I should put/use this.

   static constructor() {
        AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += new ResolveEventHandler(CurrentDomain_AssemblyResolve);
   }

    static Assembly CurrentDomain_AssemblyResolve(object sender, ResolveEventArgs args) {
        Assembly ayResult = null;
        string sShortAssemblyName = args.Name.Split(',')[0];
         Assembly[] ayAssemblies = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies();
         foreach (Assembly ayAssembly in ayAssemblies) {
            if (sShortAssemblyName == ayAssembly.FullName.Split(',')[0]) {
                 ayResult = ayAssembly;
                 break;
            }
         }
         return ayResult;
    }

Answer 1

You will need to provide a reference to the original type somehow so that the utility program knows how to deserialize it.

The easy way is just to add the DLL the types were originally defined in as a reference to the utility project.

The code you posted allows you to dynamically load that same DLL when the deserializer determines it can't find the type. This is a more difficult approach (but not that difficult), but in both cases you will need a DLL that defines the types... so probably easiest just to statically link by adding the reference.

If your types are not currently in a DLL (e.g. if they are in an EXE), I suggest you pull the classes out of the EXE into a new DLL, and reference that DLL both from the original project and from the util project.