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Is it simple or even possible?

Why: Following my other question and using this approach, now I would like to simply embed the source file to the resources so I can copy it to the temp folder while the application is running - and keep the application as a single file.

I assume using a pre-build event is the best way to do this. If so, how would it be done?

EDIT: I'm asking about adding it before building because I also assume it won't be automatically updated if I add it manually once and then change the code after.

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mkvlrn
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2 Answers2

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I recently went through this same issue when developing an examples suite for a .NET control which had to display its own example source code in the application.

The approach I ended up with was as follows.

  1. I created a batch script (run in pre-build) to copy all the code files under /Examples/* to another folder in the solution Resources/ExamplesSrc/*

  2. I then included all these files under Resources/ExamplesSrc/* in the csproj and saved it.

  3. The next step was I set all the files under Resources/ExamplesSrc/* as embedded resource and committed the change to SVN. I did not commit the examples (generated) to SVN, just the modified csproj and batch file.

The effect when developers checked out was that they had (!) icons on all the resources (they were not on disk, but the csproj was looking for them), however as soon as they built the generated files appeared and all was well. This approach also worked with a build server (Team city) and the examples suite can now load and browse its own code via embedded resources.

One caveat you should be aware of. There is a quirk (by design apparently) in VS2010. If an embedded resource has ".cs" in it (i.e. any code file!) it cannot be loaded from the assembly using Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(). To work around this all source files were renamed in the batch copy step from *.Xaml.cs to *.Xaml.c.txt, from *.cs to *.c.txt

Hope this helps!

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Dr. Andrew Burnett-Thompson
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  • Oh, I'm not using version control, it's just a small learning/training app, but I wish to send it to my college professor and classmates, so having the code ready is a plus. Thanks for the suggestion though! – mkvlrn Apr 26 '12 at 02:06
  • Then you need to be aware that if you get your batch file wrong it will mangle your source files. Make sure you take a backup before doing this! – Dr. Andrew Burnett-Thompson Apr 26 '12 at 06:50
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Turns out I don't need to (re)add the source file each time I build the solution!

When I add it manually once it becomes a "Text" file on resources - and I can easily access it as a string using Properties.Resources.SourceCode (having the file named "SourceCode.cs"). And yes, it is updated automatically since the resource property "Persistence": the file is linked at compile time.

mkvlrn
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    @Dr.AndrewBurnett-Thompson Yes, it worked fine. I even tried with an empty .cs file and then started coding in it after creating the resource reference. The code was there during runtime, every time. You only need to save the code file, of course. – mkvlrn Apr 26 '12 at 12:18
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    Ok so let me get this straight, you have a code file under Project/* and you add the same source file to resx resources, then can access as string? Fantastic. I might convert my code which uses batch files :) BTW Mine is silverlight so there may be an issue there but worth a try. Thanks for sharing your updated answer – Dr. Andrew Burnett-Thompson Apr 26 '12 at 12:44
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    @Dr.AndrewBurnett-Thompson That's precisely what I did: just added an existing *.cs file (under my project folder) to resources. Give it a try, though I'm not sure it will work for a Silverlight project. – mkvlrn Apr 26 '12 at 13:02