Embedding DLLs in a compiled executable

Question

You know, I haven't seen a good answer for this anywhere. Is it possible to embed a pre-existing DLL into a compiled C# executable (so that you only have one file to distribute)? If it is possible, how would one go about doing it?

Normally, I'm cool with just leaving the DLLs outside and having the setup program handle everything, but there have been a couple of people at work who have asked me this and I honestly don't know.

Answer 1

You could add the DLLs as embedded resources, and then have your program unpack them into the application directory on startup (after checking to see if they're there already).

Setup files are so easy to make, though, that I don't think this would be worth it.

EDIT: This technique would be easy with .NET assemblies. With non-.NET DLLs it would be a lot more work (you'd have to figure out where to unpack the files and register them and so on).

Answer 2

If they're actually managed assemblies, you can use ILMerge. For native DLLs, you'll have a bit more work to do.

See also: How can a C++ windows dll be merged into a C# application exe?

Answer 3

It's possible but not all that easy, to create a hybrid native/managed assembly in C#. Were you using C++ instead it'd be a lot easier, as the Visual C++ compiler can create hybrid assemblies as easily as anything else.

Unless you have a strict requirement to produce a hybrid assembly, I'd agree with MusiGenesis that this isn't really worth the trouble to do with C#. If you need to do it, perhaps look at moving to C++/CLI instead.

Answer 4

I would recommend you check out the .NETZ utility, which also compresses the assembly with a scheme of your choice:

http://madebits.com/netz/help.php#single

Answer 5

Another product that can handle this elegantly is SmartAssembly, at SmartAssembly.com . This product will, in addition to merging all dependencies into a single DLL, (optionally) obfuscate your code, remove extra meta-data to reduce the resulting file size, and can also actually optimize the IL to increase runtime performance. There is also some kind of global exception handling / reporting feature it adds to your software (if desired) that I didn't take the time to understand, but could be useful. I believe it also has a command line API so you can make it part of your build process.

Answer 6

Check boxedapp

It can embed a dll into any app. Written in C# too, of course :)

Hope it helps.