Private Assemblies
Private assemblies can only be used by one application. They are copied to a subdirectory of that application and, effectively, become a part of that application. Application installation only requires a copy operation. No component registration is required.
The disadvantage of using private assemblies is that they have to be copied into every application that uses it. This results in increased disk space requirements on the target machine - the same private assembly is copied to disk multiple times - and in memory requirements - the same DLL loaded from different locations is seen by Windows as a different module and is allocated separate physical memory.
Note: When Windows loads the same physical module (DLL) into multiple address spaces (processes) it allocates the same physical memory (RAM) to multiple processes. It then maps different virtual addresses (from each process) to the same physical address. This reduces RAM requirements when DLLs are used by many processes. To prevent processes from changing each other's memory, this common area is marked copy on write (see Copy-on-Write Protection).
It is a matter of analysis and individual decision on whether shared or private assemblies are a more suitable choice. Once you decide to use, at least some, private assemblies for multiple applications - you should consider using private assembly library.
Making a Library
- Designate a shared location, a folder on a server, as the private assembly storage location.
- Store each assembly in its own subdirectory of this folder. Do not change subfolder names - they must be exactly as created by Manifest Maker.
- Store manifest files either in the common parent folder or in the individual assembly folders. It is a good idea to let Manifest Maker automatically name and save the project file in the manifest directory (see Build Options Dialog). This way each assembly is entirely contained in the same folder.
- Make sure all packagers use the same path to build or access the assemblies. This will simplify access by multiple users.
- Tell Manifest Maker where is this library - enter the path to the assembly parent folder in the Library tab of the Build Options Dialog dialog.
From now on, when you choose Manifest / Private Assemblies menu option in Manifest Maker, all assemblies from the library will be listed in the dialog. When you select any of them, they will be listed in the project item list as private assemblies with a note Library.
When building application manifests (either Automatic or Assembly Manifest project type), Manifest Maker will add this assembly reference to the application manifest and test the manifest with the private assembly reference.
A common way of installing private assemblies is through the use of Microsoft Installer's Merge Modules. See MSDN Library for details.