Class library( dll)

  • Thread starter Thread starter kimiraikkonen
  • Start date Start date
K

kimiraikkonen

Hello,
I'm new to developing in VB.NET, currently struggling with 2005
Express. I've worked some simple projects those are only .exe files to
run in .Net 2.0 enviroment.

But one of the most thing i wonder is that: You see and you know the
most applications are not stand-alone. They use a lot of or some DLL
files to interact in order to be used with full functionality. How can
i learn and see examples of DLL authoring that'll be related to my exe
project?

I couldn't find enough info about developing DLL files, so it'd be
great starting with describing the "real" purpose and functions of
DLLs. I'm planning to use my project's DLLs as not a part of a DLL
hell (no dependecy) that will be located in the root directory of my
project.

So, how can i develop DLL files to my project "Bigger" and more
functional?

Sorry for being newbie, but with your help, i hope i will have
realized the "USAGE" method and purpose of DLLs.

Thanks...
 
Hello,
I'm new to developing in VB.NET, currently struggling with 2005
Express. I've worked some simple projects those are only .exe files to
run in .Net 2.0 enviroment.

But one of the most thing i wonder is that: You see and you know the
most applications are not stand-alone. They use a lot of or some DLL
files to interact in order to be used with full functionality. How can
i learn and see examples of DLL authoring that'll be related to my exe
project?

I couldn't find enough info about developing DLL files, so it'd be
great starting with describing the "real" purpose and functions of
DLLs. I'm planning to use my project's DLLs as not a part of a DLL
hell (no dependecy) that will be located in the root directory of my
project.

So, how can i develop DLL files to my project "Bigger" and more
functional?

Sorry for being newbie, but with your help, i hope i will have
realized the "USAGE" method and purpose of DLLs.

Thanks...
Click to expand...

IMHO, a .NET solution should have two primary components, 1) the user
interface (one or more forms), and 2) the "engine" that does all of
the work. The engine would be written as a class library, the main
form should instantiate an object of the engine, and use the methods
contained in the engine to actually do the real work that the
application does. Now some applications are going to be so simple that
a class library would be overkill. But if you ever expect to have more
than one user interface to an engine, say an administrator app and a
user app, then it makes sense to put the work in the engine, and
reference it with both (all) user interface projects that may need it.
 
But one of the most thing i wonder is that: You see and you know the
most applications are not stand-alone. They use a lot of or some DLL
files to interact in order to be used with full functionality. How can
i learn and see examples of DLL authoring that'll be related to my exe
project?
Click to expand...

yes, but its always a good idea to make a project as simple as possible.
usually DLLs are NECESSARY to the program. for instance, some may hold
certain parts of the project, like a manager for the protocol it uses. that
way if the protocol is updated, only one file needs to be changed, not the
entire exe. IMHO, unless you need to use dlls to make the project simpler, i
would suggest staying away from them, but wel see what everyone else says as
well
 
IMHO, a .NET solution should have two primary components, 1) the user
interface (one or more forms), and 2) the "engine" that does all of
the work. The engine would be written as a class library, the main
form should instantiate an object of the engine, and use the methods
contained in the engine to actually do the real work that the
application does. Now some applications are going to be so simple that
a class library would be overkill. But if you ever expect to have more
than one user interface to an engine, say an administrator app and a
user app, then it makes sense to put the work in the engine, and
reference it with both (all) user interface projects that may need it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

Thanks but still i wonder: I know DLLs are the "core" / "engine" of a
software but as you said, as enviroment controls are benig advanced,
they started to became useless but they're still needed. So, could you
give a simple code sample and what a DLL does in real?
 
Thanks but still i wonder: I know DLLs are the "core" / "engine" of a
software but as you said, as enviroment controls are benig advanced,
they started to became useless but they're still needed. So, could you
give a simple code sample and what a DLL does in real?
Click to expand...

Someone recently asked how to enumerate through a list of all files
and folders, including all subfolders. I posted the code to a class I
wrote for personal use that does exactly that. This class is a member
of a general purpose class library that many of the personal
applications I have written includes as a reference. Take a look at
the code here:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...lnk=gst&q=zacks&rnum=2&hl=en#c6135c3c82347084
 
kimiraikkonen said:
Thanks but still i wonder: I know DLLs are the "core" / "engine" of a
software but as you said, as enviroment controls are benig advanced,
they started to became useless but they're still needed. So, could you
give a simple code sample and what a DLL does in real?
Click to expand...

You could learn a lot from online webcasts from Microsoft. There are
several videos for beginner / intermediate / advanced programmers.

Goto: http://www.microsoft.com/events/AdvSearch.mspx and select 'Visual
Basic 2005' under products and select On-Demand Webcasts from the Event
Type.

HTH

Tony K
 
Thanks for replies. I'll have looked the samples and links about class
library. I usually explorer software's root folder to see what goes
around and the stand-alone software's are few, most of ones , powerful
ones use class libraries (dll) to provide total functionality even the
dll wasn't authored by software creator company.

For example, in which purposes a dll could be used within my project?
The difference i want to find out is that beacuse i'm newbie.

Also, is the coding in VB.NET for class library so different while
authoring a simple stand-alone .exe?

Thank you.
 
kimiraikkonen said:
Thanks for replies. I'll have looked the samples and links about
class library. I usually explorer software's root folder to see what
goes around and the stand-alone software's are few, most of ones ,
powerful ones use class libraries (dll) to provide total
functionality even the dll wasn't authored by software creator
company.

For example, in which purposes a dll could be used within my
project? The difference i want to find out is that beacuse i'm
newbie.

Also, is the coding in VB.NET for class library so different while
authoring a simple stand-alone .exe?
Click to expand...

It's almost the same. A Dll just can not be started like an Exe. A Dll
contains the compiled code that can be used from different executables. Just
look at the Framework class libraries: For example, the Form class resides
in a Dll that you can use in all your different projects. Just by setting a
reference to the Dll, all classes in the Dll are available to the project.


Armin
 
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