DLL import from resource?

[thenoobie]

I am pretty new to C# and I'm wondering if it's possible to directly load a DLL from resource? Right now I'm extracting the embedded DLL and then loading the function like this.

// Function to take resource name and extract it to file location of second parameter
ExtractResourceToFile( "D3DWRAP.embed", "D3DWrapper.dll" );

[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("D3DWrapper.dll")]
private static extern void createoverlay();

I would much prefer to do this..

[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("D3DWRAP.embed")]
private static extern void createoverlay();

So is it possible to load the DLL function directly from the embedded resource or do I need to extract it first?

[brewbuck]

Not without serious hackery (i.e. writing your own implementation of LoadLibrary()).

A commercial package does exist which lets you pack DLLs into your EXE and use them without needed to write them to disk, but I don't remember what it's called or what it costs (it isn't free).

The simplest is what you suggested yourself, write the resource to disk as a DLL and then open it with LoadLibrary(). Note that this is considered "sketchy" behavior and you may trigger antivirus software.

[VirtualAce]

Indeed that will trigger anti-virus software. Why do you need to rely on this type of behavior? Perhaps there is a better approach.