How does .NET find dlls corresponding to namespaces it imports?
I type in code
Imports this.and.this
but how does it know what dll to load? Is it registered somewhere?
How could I know if that namespace is available on my machine?
Thanks
Dan
Answers
This is actually language compiler feature. You give references (/r switch in C# and VB compilers) to the compiler and it will scan all available classes with their namespaces in these references. That's how compilers can find out where particular class is defined.
Visual Studio has its own built-in way how to find which assemblies to give to the compilers as reference assemblies. You can check it out in the build logs.
Note that the same namespace can be implemented in multiple assemblies (e.g. System namespace in mscorlib.dll and System.dll).
-Karel- Proposed As Answer byKarel ZikmundMSFT, ModeratorMonday, October 26, 2009 3:36 PM
- Marked As Answer byeryangMSFT, ModeratorFriday, October 30, 2009 10:10 AM
All Replies
This is actually language compiler feature. You give references (/r switch in C# and VB compilers) to the compiler and it will scan all available classes with their namespaces in these references. That's how compilers can find out where particular class is defined.
Visual Studio has its own built-in way how to find which assemblies to give to the compilers as reference assemblies. You can check it out in the build logs.
Note that the same namespace can be implemented in multiple assemblies (e.g. System namespace in mscorlib.dll and System.dll).
-Karel- Proposed As Answer byKarel ZikmundMSFT, ModeratorMonday, October 26, 2009 3:36 PM
- Marked As Answer byeryangMSFT, ModeratorFriday, October 30, 2009 10:10 AM
