Unload external class library in c#?

Question

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Help needed with unloading .DLL’s from AppDomain - Still not working even with ShadowCopy

In my project I use the MEF framework to provide extensibility; The main program can be extended by another Lib.dll class library.

The problem is that I need to swap this Lib.dll with another one WITHOUT CLOSING the main program.

So how can I unload this Lib.dll to swap it ?

Update

the main program is in form:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.ComponentModel.Composition;
using System.ComponentModel.Composition.Hosting;

namespace SimpleCalculator3
{

    public interface ICalculator
    {
        String Calculate(String input);
    }

    public interface IOperation
    {
        int Operate(int left, int right);
    }

    public interface IOperationData
    {
        Char Symbol { get; }
    }

    [Export(typeof(IOperation))]
    [ExportMetadata("Symbol", '+')]
    class Add : IOperation
    {
        public int Operate(int left, int right)
        {
            return left + right;
        }
    }

    [Export(typeof(IOperation))]
    [ExportMetadata("Symbol", '-')]
    class Subtract : IOperation
    {

        public int Operate(int left, int right)
        {
            return left - right;
        }

    }



    [Export(typeof(ICalculator))]
    class MySimpleCalculator : ICalculator
    {
        [ImportMany]
        IEnumerable<Lazy<IOperation, IOperationData>> operations;

        public String Calculate(String input)
        {
            int left;
            int right;
            Char operation;
            int fn = FindFirstNonDigit(input); //finds the operator
            if (fn < 0) return "Could not parse command.";

            try
            {
                //separate out the operands
                left = int.Parse(input.Substring(0, fn));
                right = int.Parse(input.Substring(fn + 1));
            }
            catch
            {
                return "Could not parse command.";
            }

            operation = input[fn];

            foreach (Lazy<IOperation, IOperationData> i in operations)
            {
                if (i.Metadata.Symbol.Equals(operation)) return i.Value.Operate(left, right).ToString();
            }
            return "Operation Not Found!";
        }

        private int FindFirstNonDigit(String s)
        {

            for (int i = 0; i < s.Length; i++)
            {
                if (!(Char.IsDigit(s[i]))) return i;
            }
            return -1;
        }


    }


    class Program
    {
        private CompositionContainer _container;

        [Import(typeof(ICalculator))]
        public ICalculator calculator;


        private Program()
        {
            //An aggregate catalog that combines multiple catalogs
            var catalog = new AggregateCatalog();
            //Adds all the parts found in the same assembly as the Program class
            catalog.Catalogs.Add(new AssemblyCatalog(typeof(Program).Assembly));
            //catalog.Catalogs.Add(new DirectoryCatalog("C:\\Users\\SomeUser\\Documents\\Visual Studio 2010\\Projects\\SimpleCalculator3\\SimpleCalculator3\\Extensions"));


            //Create the CompositionContainer with the parts in the catalog
            _container = new CompositionContainer(catalog);

            //Fill the imports of this object
            try
            {
                this._container.ComposeParts(this);
            }
            catch (CompositionException compositionException)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(compositionException.ToString());
            }
        }


        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Program p = new Program(); //Composition is performed in the constructor
            String s;
            Console.WriteLine("Enter Command:");
            while (true)
            {
                s = Console.ReadLine();
                Console.WriteLine(p.calculator.Calculate(s));
            }


        }
    }
}

and the extending Lib.dll is in form

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.ComponentModel.Composition;

namespace ExtendedOperations {

    [Export(typeof(SimpleCalculator3.IOperation))]
    [ExportMetadata("Symbol", '%')]
    public class Mod : SimpleCalculator3.IOperation
    {
        public int Operate(int left, int right)
        {
            return left % right;
        }
    }

}

that is it, I want to dynamically change code in Lib.dll and build it while the main program is running

why you want to unload it...it wiil be expensive to load it again.. — Paritosh, Dec 30 '12 at 20:18
@Micah how can I use it with MEF (MEF loads the dll behind the scene at the composition phase) ? — Yasser Rabee, Dec 30 '12 at 21:06
@YasserRabee Where can I find the topic that helped you? Was Micah's comment deleted? — Panos Rontogiannis, Jan 04 '13 at 17:29
@panos Yes, was deleted! I have accepted Vlad's answer, it's the same as the Micah's one - If you still have trouble, ask me :) — Yasser Rabee, Jan 08 '13 at 11:54

VladL · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-30T21:06:33.140

You can load your files in another AppDomain, which you can unload when you don't need it.

AppDomainSetup ads = new AppDomainSetup();
ads.PrivateBinPath = Path.GetDirectoryName("C:\\some.dll");
AppDomain ad2 = AppDomain.CreateDomain("AD2", null, ads);
ProxyDomain proxy = (ProxyDomain)ad2.CreateInstanceAndUnwrap(typeof(ProxyDomain).Assembly.FullName, typeof(ProxyDomain).FullName);
bool ok = proxy.LoadDll("C:\\some.dll");
AppDomain.Unload(ad2);

public class ProxyDomain : MarshalByRefObject
{
    public bool LoadDll(string assemblyPath)
    {
         Assembly myDLL = Assembly.LoadFile(assemblyPath);
        //use your dll here
    }
}

Unload external class library in c#?

1 Answers1