Publish without rebuilding whole app (dlls,...) - how?

[molat]

Hello

We have a huge application and publishing a new version is kind of a problem for those "islands" of application (they are being programmed elsewhere - reports, etc...).
There are references to "main" code .dlls in those parts (we use svn - so they can have current versions, but it changes all te time so...). They only make .dlls, which are then published to production server.
We can't just copy their code and build it all-together (that is not an option, although it would be the simplest one).

Is there a way to make .dll work with .exe, without recompiling those .dll(s)? How? And, does it work the other way around: rebuild dll - publish, without rebuilding .exe: and to force application to work (not to wonder why these version is different from that...)?

Now.... There is option to alter .config file: add assemblybinding into runtime node.

<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
...

Now... I have a problem with this: It does not work - can, please someone explain how it works?

There are another options to add at machine level, and via .net administrative configuration tools. The second option would also be ok if it would work for any new version of .exe.

I hope I was clear enough and someone will help me out here, please.

p.s.
By the way: referenced objects are not changing at all - they are just custom forms, objects derived from .net objects: tailored for our needs (unique feel&look forms,...).

Best Regards!

 

[PlausiblyDamp]

You could always build the individual dll projects without needing access to the entire solution or the source of other dlls.
If a dll or the exe have a reference to a dll then they can be built against a compiled version and no source would be needed.

If you wish to use the assemblyBinding feature of the config file then the dlls need to be strongly named and each version needs to have a different version number.

The format of the assemblyBinding element can be found here