Question

Help with replacing an already running dll

Asked by: silenthunter

Hi Folks,
this is my first post on EE.
i am creating this winform application which will be auto updating itself.
i have a problem replacing the existing dll.
supposingly if i have a single dll file that needs to be updated , how do i update it while the application is still running, i tried copying my Dll into the debug folder but it gives an error that the application is in use..
can u plz suggest a solution or a workaround ..

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Asked On
2009-09-15 at 05:39:34ID24732626
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Vb.net

Topics

Microsoft Visual Basic.Net

,

.Net Application Servers

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Answers

 

by: emoreauPosted on 2009-09-15 at 06:31:09ID: 25334648

You have to stop the application in order to unload the DLL and be able to replace it.

 

by: silenthunterPosted on 2009-09-15 at 06:40:26ID: 25334745

thanks for ur reply,
but how do i stop the application during runtime??
if i stop it during runtime then i wont be able to update my application and the dll.

 

by: gpizzutoPosted on 2009-09-15 at 06:55:39ID: 25334876

Try this:
rename the dll name as 'OldDll.dll', copy the new one and then restart the program.
Before the updating process, delete the 'OldDll.dll' file (in a try-catch block).
Usually it works for me. Hope this helps

 

by: gpizzutoPosted on 2009-09-15 at 06:58:44ID: 25334913

Another way is to launch another program that executes the update.
Call the updating program (that will start the process after some second set by a timer or, better, that waits the end of the calling program), then close the main program. Clearly, the updating program should not use the dll...
Hope this helps

 

by: silenthunterPosted on 2009-09-15 at 07:06:04ID: 25334991

thanks gpizzuto..
i'll try your solution tomm..
m leavin office now..

 

by: burningmacePosted on 2009-09-15 at 07:15:16ID: 25335100

I assume this is for an update application. The best thing to do is to create a separate application to check for updates and patch the program. The attached code snippet is a sample of how an update program can work. It accesses a web page to see if there is a new version, and if so it then checks another page to find where it can get the update files.

Imports System.Net
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text
 
Public Class Form1
 
    Private appPath As String = "C:\Program Files\Your Application Path\"
    Private appExecutable As String = "application.exe"
    Private updateVersionURL As String = "http://update.yoursite.com/version.php"
    Private updateFileListURL As String = "http://update.yoursite.com/update.php"
 
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub tmrAsync_Tick(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles tmrAsync.Tick
        ' Using a timer is a hack to allow asynchronous code execution without the need
        ' to use delegate invocation to perform cross-thread operations. It also eliminates
        ' the need to gain exclusive access to objects using such classes as Monitor.
        tmrAsync.Enabled = False
        CheckUpdate()
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub CheckUpdate()
        lstLog.Items.Add("Checking for new version...")
        Application.DoEvents()
        Dim wc As New WebClient
        ' Grab the latest version info in format "<major>.<minor>.<build>" e.g. 4.2.1335
        Dim latestVersion As String = wc.DownloadString(updateVersionURL)
        ' Get the file version of your current EXE
        Dim fv As FileVersionInfo = FileVersionInfo.GetVersionInfo(appPath & appExecutable)
        Dim fvs As String = fv.ProductMajorPart & "." & fv.ProductMinorPart & "." & fv.ProductBuildPart
        If fvs <> latestVersion Then
            lstLog.Items.Add("New version found!")
            ' Update is available, ask the user
            If MessageBox.Show("There is a new version (" & latestVersion & "). Do you want to update?", "Update", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question) = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.No Then
                wc.Dispose()
                Application.Exit()
                Exit Sub
            End If
            ' Get the list of files to download
            ' The download URLs should be one per line, the local path preceeds them
            ' delimited by a | character. For example:
            ' application.exe|http://update.yoursite.com/files/application.exe
            ' path\to\mylib.dll|http://update.yoursite.com/files/mylib.dll
            Dim updateParts As String = wc.DownloadString(updateFileListURL)
            ' Create a stream reader for the update info
            Dim sr As New StreamReader(New MemoryStream(UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(updateParts)))
            ' Go through the update URLs and download each one to the specified path
            Do
                Dim l As String = sr.ReadLine()
                Dim lp() As String = Split(l, "|")
                ' lp(0) is the path, lp(1) is the URL
                lstLog.Items.Add("Updating " & lp(0))
                Application.DoEvents()
                ' Download the file and overwrite the old one
                wc.DownloadFile(lp(1), appPath & lp(1))
                Application.DoEvents()
            Loop While Not sr.EndOfStream
            MessageBox.Show("Patching complete!", "Update")
        Else
            lstLog.Items.Add("No later version found.")
            MessageBox.Show("The application is up to date.", "Update")
        End If
        wc.Dispose()
        Application.Exit()
    End Sub
End Class

                                              
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by: silenthunterPosted on 2009-09-15 at 22:53:40ID: 25342277

hi burning mace..
thanks for ur reply..
but i already have a working update code..
i was just having a problem updating the dll that was in use..
but thanks anyways..

 

by: silenthunterPosted on 2009-09-16 at 00:07:14ID: 25342707

thanks gpizzuto
i tried ur first solution and it worked for me..
thanks again mate :)

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