Referencing libraries

Projects can reference NuGet packages as well as local dlls (managed or native).

NuGet packages

Projects can reference NuGet packages from the official nuget.org repository or any other repository that the users configures.

Clicking on the "Manage packages" commands opens up the package manager dialog:

Installing a package downloads the package to the local file system and adds a record of the dependency into the project.config file:

On each build, the project will locate the files that belong to the package, reference them and copy them into the bin folder.

Out of the box, nuget.org is the only defined source of NuGet packages, but the list of package sources can be edited in the "Manage sources" tab of the package manager dialog.

When configuring a package source, it is important to choose the appropriate "Feed type". This setting determines whether the source will be used when searching for nuget packages, QueryStorm extensions or both.

Managed local dlls

Projects can reference dlls from the local file system:

Adding a reference to a dll adds a record to the References section of the project.config file:

The file is referenced by its full path. On build, the dll file is copied into the bin folder. Since the file is copied on build, it can be updated in the meantime (e.g. in Visual Studio) and the app will use the file as it is at build time, rather than as it was at reference time.

Native local dlls

Native dll references can be added manually to the NativeReferences section in the project.config file. On build, the files are copied to the bin\x86 and bin\x64 folders based on the detected architecture of the dlls.

Native dlls inside NuGet packages are automatically detected and added to the x86 and x64 folders as well.

When loading apps, the runtime first loads all native dlls it finds before starting to load the managed dlls. This enables managed code to call the functions inside the native dlls using P/Invoke.