Costura is an add-in for Fody
Embeds dependencies as resources.
NuGet installation
Install the Costura.Fody NuGet package and update the Fody NuGet package:
PM> Install-Package Fody PM> Install-Package Costura.Fody
The Install-Package Fody is required since NuGet always defaults to the oldest, and most buggy, version of any dependency.
Add to FodyWeavers.xml
Add <Costura/> to FodyWeavers.xml
<Weavers> <Costura/> </Weavers>
How it works
Merge assemblies as embedded resources
This approach uses a combination of two methods
- Jeffrey Richter's suggestion of using embedded resources as a method of merging assemblies
- Einar Egilsson's suggestion using cecil to create module initializers
Details
This Task performs the following changes
- Take all assemblies (and pdbs) that have been marked as "Copy Local" and embed them as resources in the target assembly.
- Injects the following code into the module initializer of the target assembly. This code will be called when the assembly is loaded into memory
eg
static <Module>() { ILTemplate.Attach(); }
- Injects the following class into the target assembly. This means if an assembly load fails it will be loaded from the embedded resources.
Configuration Options
All config options are accessed by modifying the Costura node in FodyWeavers.xml.
Default FodyWeavers.xml:
<Weavers> <Costura /> </Weavers>
CreateTemporaryAssemblies
This will copy embedded files to disk before loading them into memory. This is helpful for some scenarios that expected an assembly to be loaded from a physical file.
Defaults to false
<Costura CreateTemporaryAssemblies='true' />
IncludeDebugSymbols
Controls if .pdbs for reference assemblies are also embedded.
Defaults to true
<Costura IncludeDebugSymbols='false' />
DisableCompression
Embedded assemblies are compressed by default, and uncompressed when they are loaded. You can turn compression off with this option.
Defaults to false
<Costura DisableCompression='true' />
DisableCleanup
As part of Costura, embedded assemblies are no longer included as part of the build. This cleanup can be turned off.
Defaults to false
<Costura DisableCleanup='true' />
LoadAtModuleInit
Costura by default will load as part of the module initialization. This flag disables that behaviour. Make sure you call CosturaUtility.Initialize() somewhere in your code.
Defaults to true
<Costura LoadAtModuleInit='false' />
IgnoreSatelliteAssemblies
Costura will by default use assemblies with a name like 'resources.dll' as a satellite resource and prepend the output path. This flag disables that behavior.
Defaults to false
<Costura IgnoreSatelliteAssemblies='true' />
ExcludeAssemblies
A list of assembly names to exclude from the default action of "embed all Copy Local references".
Do not include .exe or .dll in the names.
Can not be defined with IncludeAssemblies.
Can use wildcards for partial assembly name matching. For example System.* will exclude all assemblies that start with System.. Wildcards may only be used at the end of an entry so for example, System.*.Private.* would not work.
Can take two forms.
As an element with items delimited by a newline.
<Costura> <ExcludeAssemblies> Foo Bar </ExcludeAssemblies> </Costura>
Or as an attribute with items delimited by a pipe |.
<Costura ExcludeAssemblies='Foo|Bar' />
IncludeAssemblies
A list of assembly names to include from the default action of "embed all Copy Local references".
Do not include .exe or .dll in the names.
Can not be defined with ExcludeAssemblies.
Can use wildcards at the end of the name for partial matching.
Can take two forms.
As an element with items delimited by a newline.
<Costura> <IncludeAssemblies> Foo Bar </IncludeAssemblies> </Costura>
Or as an attribute with items delimited by a pipe |.
<Costura IncludeAssemblies='Foo|Bar' />
Unmanaged32Assemblies & Unmanaged64Assemblies
Mixed-mode assemblies cannot be loaded the same way as managed assemblies.
Therefore, to help Costura identify which assemblies are mixed-mode, and in what environment to load them in you should include their names in one or both of these lists.
Do not include .exe or .dll in the names.
Can use wildcards at the end of the name for partial matching.
Can take two forms.
As an element with items delimited by a newline.
<Costura> <Unmanaged32Assemblies> Foo32 Bar32 </Unmanaged32Assemblies> <Unmanaged64Assemblies> Foo64 Bar64 </Unmanaged64Assemblies> </Costura>
Or as a attribute with items delimited by a pipe |.
<Costura Unmanaged32Assemblies='Foo32|Bar32' Unmanaged64Assemblies='Foo64|Bar64' />
Native Libraries and PreloadOrder
Native libraries can be loaded by Costura automatically. To include a native library include it in your project as an Embedded Resource in a folder called costura32 or costura64 depending on the bittyness of the library.
Optionally you can also specify the order that preloaded libraries are loaded. When using temporary assemblies from disk mixed mode assemblies are also preloaded.
To specify the order of preloaded assemblies add a PreloadOrder element to the config.
<Costura> <PreloadOrder> Foo Bar </PreloadOrder> </Costura>
Or as a attribute with items delimited by a pipe |.
<Costura PreloadOrder='Foo|Bar' />
CosturaUtility
CosturaUtility is a class that gives you access to initialize the Costura system manually in your own code. This is mainly for scenarios where the module initializer doesn't work, such as libraries and Mono.
To use, call CosturaUtility.Initialize() somewhere in your code, as early as possible.
class Program { static Program() { CosturaUtility.Initialize(); } static void Main(string[] args) { ... } }
Unit Testing
Most unit test frameworks need the .dlls files in order to discover and perform the unit tests. You may need to add Costura and a configuration like the below to your testing assembly.
<Weavers> <Costura ExcludeAssemblies='TargetExe|TargetExeTest' CreateTemporaryAssemblies='true' DisableCleanup='true'/> </Weavers>
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Merge from The Noun Project