How exactly does linking in C# work?

Posted by akosch on Stack Overflow See other posts from Stack Overflow or by akosch
Published on 2010-06-18T08:39:43Z Indexed on 2010/06/18 8:43 UTC
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Filed under:

c#

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linking

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gpl

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dynamic-linking

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license

I want to use a GPL'd library in my C# application, but not necessarily release my own code under the GPL. If I understand correctly linking against a GPL'd library using dynamic linking and not distributing the library in question means I can license my own app in any way I want (the users of my software would then be required to install the library themselves). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

My question is: how can I link against a DLL this way in C#? Do I only need to use C#'s using directive and add the DLL as a reference to the compiler? Is the distribution of the resulting bytecode legal?

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