Hi Stackoverflowers! :)

We have a .NET application for Windows which is installed locally by Microsoft Installer. Now we have the need to use additional assemblies which are located online at our Web Servers. We'd like to refer to a remote uri like https://www.ourserver.com/OurProductName/ExternalLib.dll and reveal additional functionality, which is described roughly by a known common ("AddIn/Plugin") Interface. These are not 3rd Party Plugins, we just want be able to exchange parts of the application frequently, without the need to have frequent software updates.

Our first idea was to add some kind of "remote refence" in Visual Studio by setting the path to the remote assembly uri. But Visual Studio downloaded the assembly immediately to a temporary directory, adding a reference to it.

Our second attempt then, is simply using a WebRequest (or WebClient) to retrieve a binary stream of the Assembly, loading it "from image" by using Assembly.Load(...). This actually works, but is not very elegant and requires more additional programming for verification etc.

We hoped Clickonce would provide useful techniques but apparently it's suitable for standalone applications only. (Correct me?)

Is there a way (.net native or by framework/api) to reference remotely located assemblies?

Thanks in advance and have a happy easter!