WPF - static link DLL

Question

I have a WPF application that I want to send to others so that they can use it. I have several third-party DLLs that it uses.

For ease of installation, I would like to have one exe that just starts. Is there a way with WPF applications (and in general C # .NET) to say "Link in DLL files"? (I am using Visual Studio 2008 SP1.)

Answer 1

For .NET, there are many third-party static linkers that will create a single executable. Find ".NET Static Linker" in your favorite search engine. Most of them also confuse your code as an added benefit to complicate reverse engineering back to readable source code.

I have not tried any of them, so you have no specific recommendation.

There is also an article on the Code Project that talks about how to achieve the same goal using the framework tools.

Answer 2

You cannot work directly in Visual Studio. However, there is a tool for Microsoft Research called ILMerge that you will need (provided that the DLL with which you want to install the link is. Clean assemblies).