How do I: Dynamically embed resource files (specifically, XML) (...)

[CodeLeon]

Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[Dave Sexton]

Hi,

When you compile the assembly with the C# compiler use a /resource switch
for each resource that you want to embed:

C# Language Reference
/resource (Embed Resource File to Output) (C# Compiler Options)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...07(VS.80).aspx

You can use the resgen tool to create binary resources from an xml resource
file (.resx) that you can supply to the C# compiler:

..NET Framework Tools
Resource File Generator (Resgen.exe)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...z1(VS.80).aspx

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[CodeLeon]

Thank you for your reply. It is much appreciated. So, how would I do
this programatically, usang an ICodeCompiler or similar class? How
would I use a simple (ie, serialized) XML file?

Thanks again!

Dave Sexton wrote:

Hi,

When you compile the assembly with the C# compiler use a /resource switch
for each resource that you want to embed:

C# Language Reference
/resource (Embed Resource File to Output) (C# Compiler Options)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...07(VS.80).aspx

You can use the resgen tool to create binary resources from an xml resource
file (.resx) that you can supply to the C# compiler:

.NET Framework Tools
Resource File Generator (Resgen.exe)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...z1(VS.80).aspx

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[Dave Sexton]

Hi,

The following link contains an example:

CompilerParameters.EmbeddedResources Property
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...resources.aspx

To create the resource file you can write it to a temporary file on disk for
use with the CodeDOM:

..NET Framework Class Library
ResourceWriter Class
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...er(VS.80).aspx

Here's an example that I've derived based on the links above (your
serialized xml can be a byte[] or string here):

string temp = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(),
Path.GetTempFileName());

try
{
using (FileStream stream = new FileStream(temp))
// Unfortunately, the EmbeddedResources property is a
// StringCollection and accepts only file paths, not resource
// streams, so MemoryStream can't be used here
{
using (ResourceWriter writer = new ResourceWriter(stream))
{
// your xml can be byte[] or a string
writer.AddResource("name", yourXml);
writer.AddResource("name2", yourXml2);
}
}

CompilerParameters cp = new CompilerParameters();

// provider is an instance of CodeDomProvider
if (provider.Supports(GeneratorSupport.Resources))
{
cp.EmbeddedResources.Add(temp);
}
...
CompilerResults cr =
provider.CompileAssemblyFromFile(cp, sourceFile);
...
}
finally
{
File.Delete(temp);
}
I haven't tested the code myself so beware :)

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@k21g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Thank you for your reply. It is much appreciated. So, how would I do
this programatically, usang an ICodeCompiler or similar class? How
would I use a simple (ie, serialized) XML file?

Thanks again!

Dave Sexton wrote:

>Hi,

When you compile the assembly with the C# compiler use a /resource switch
for each resource that you want to embed:

C# Language Reference
/resource (Embed Resource File to Output) (C# Compiler Options)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...07(VS.80).aspx

You can use the resgen tool to create binary resources from an xml
resource
file (.resx) that you can supply to the C# compiler:

.NET Framework Tools
Resource File Generator (Resgen.exe)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...z1(VS.80).aspx

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googleg roups.com...

Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[CodeLeon]

Thank you! I do have a question: can EmbeddedResources contain binary
data, like for self-extraction, or text data, like for an html page?
Your links above really answered my question :) I appreciate your
reply!

Dave Sexton wrote:

Hi,

The following link contains an example:

CompilerParameters.EmbeddedResources Property
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...resources.aspx

To create the resource file you can write it to a temporary file on disk for
use with the CodeDOM:

.NET Framework Class Library
ResourceWriter Class
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...er(VS.80).aspx

Here's an example that I've derived based on the links above (your
serialized xml can be a byte[] or string here):

string temp = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(),
Path.GetTempFileName());

try
{
using (FileStream stream = new FileStream(temp))
// Unfortunately, the EmbeddedResources property is a
// StringCollection and accepts only file paths, not resource
// streams, so MemoryStream can't be used here
{
using (ResourceWriter writer = new ResourceWriter(stream))
{
// your xml can be byte[] or a string
writer.AddResource("name", yourXml);
writer.AddResource("name2", yourXml2);
}
}

CompilerParameters cp = new CompilerParameters();

// provider is an instance of CodeDomProvider
if (provider.Supports(GeneratorSupport.Resources))
{
cp.EmbeddedResources.Add(temp);
}
...
CompilerResults cr =
provider.CompileAssemblyFromFile(cp, sourceFile);
...
}
finally
{
File.Delete(temp);
}
I haven't tested the code myself so beware :)

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@k21g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Thank you for your reply. It is much appreciated. So, how would I do
this programatically, usang an ICodeCompiler or similar class? How
would I use a simple (ie, serialized) XML file?

Thanks again!

Dave Sexton wrote:

Hi,

When you compile the assembly with the C# compiler use a /resource switch
for each resource that you want to embed:

C# Language Reference
/resource (Embed Resource File to Output) (C# Compiler Options)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...07(VS.80).aspx

You can use the resgen tool to create binary resources from an xml
resource
file (.resx) that you can supply to the C# compiler:

.NET Framework Tools
Resource File Generator (Resgen.exe)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...z1(VS.80).aspx

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[Dave Sexton]

Hi,

It can be any format that you want. Use the
System.Resources.ResourceManager to load the resource later. e.g., Use the
GetStream method for binary or GetString method for a string resource.

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@42g2000cwt.googlegro ups.com...

Thank you! I do have a question: can EmbeddedResources contain binary
data, like for self-extraction, or text data, like for an html page?
Your links above really answered my question :) I appreciate your
reply!

Dave Sexton wrote:

>Hi,

The following link contains an example:

CompilerParameters.EmbeddedResources Property
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...resources.aspx

To create the resource file you can write it to a temporary file on disk
for
use with the CodeDOM:

.NET Framework Class Library
ResourceWriter Class
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...er(VS.80).aspx

Here's an example that I've derived based on the links above (your
serialized xml can be a byte[] or string here):

string temp = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(),
Path.GetTempFileName());

try
{
using (FileStream stream = new FileStream(temp))
// Unfortunately, the EmbeddedResources property is a
// StringCollection and accepts only file paths, not resource
// streams, so MemoryStream can't be used here
{
using (ResourceWriter writer = new ResourceWriter(stream))
{
// your xml can be byte[] or a string
writer.AddResource("name", yourXml);
writer.AddResource("name2", yourXml2);
}
}

CompilerParameters cp = new CompilerParameters();

// provider is an instance of CodeDomProvider
if (provider.Supports(GeneratorSupport.Resources))
{
cp.EmbeddedResources.Add(temp);
}
...
CompilerResults cr =
provider.CompileAssemblyFromFile(cp, sourceFile);
...
}
finally
{
File.Delete(temp);
}
I haven't tested the code myself so beware :)

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@k21g2000cwa.googleg roups.com...

Thank you for your reply. It is much appreciated. So, how would I do
this programatically, usang an ICodeCompiler or similar class? How
would I use a simple (ie, serialized) XML file?

Thanks again!

Dave Sexton wrote:
Hi,

When you compile the assembly with the C# compiler use a /resource
switch
for each resource that you want to embed:

C# Language Reference
/resource (Embed Resource File to Output) (C# Compiler Options)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...07(VS.80).aspx

You can use the resgen tool to create binary resources from an xml
resource
file (.resx) that you can supply to the C# compiler:

.NET Framework Tools
Resource File Generator (Resgen.exe)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...z1(VS.80).aspx

--
Dave Sexton
http://davesexton.com/blog

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googleg roups.com...
Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for
a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[CodeLeon]

Okay! Thanks! That answers my question completely :).

[Lebesgue]

How are you compiling the generated source code? Are you calling csc or
using the CSharpCodeProvider class? In the former case, you should specify
the /resource: option [2], in the latter, specify embedded resources with
the EmbeddedResouces [1] property of the CompilerParameters instance you are
using when creating the code provider.

[1]
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...resources.aspx
[2]
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...mpiler_topic12

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?

[CodeLeon]

I believe I am going with the latter, so the library handling the
dynamic generation can easily be deployed to PCs without direct access
to the csc. Thank You!

Lebesgue wrote:

How are you compiling the generated source code? Are you calling csc or
using the CSharpCodeProvider class? In the former case, you should specify
the /resource: option [2], in the latter, specify embedded resources with
the EmbeddedResouces [1] property of the CompilerParameters instance you are
using when creating the code provider.

[1]
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...resources.aspx
[2]
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...mpiler_topic12

"CodeLeon" <le*******@gmail.comwrote in message
news:11**********************@s34g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Hi, All. I am creating a setup program. The way it works is that the
user creates their setup info, my program generates the C# code for a
setup executable, embeds the xml file containing the info for the
setup, and compiles the whole thing into one EXE. How do i embed
resources, and access them, into that assembly?