Is it possible to use a DLL in a webpart that does not have a strong name?

Question

My Sharepoint project has a webpart, which references dlls without strong names, which in turn further reference other dlls without strong names.

Is it possible to add these dlls to sharepoint without the strong naming?

Amongst others, I am using Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common as well as other custom dlls.

Possible?

thanks,

KS

Answer 1

The source code is readily available for the Enterprise Library so if you are going to use it, you should rebuild it using one of your keys so that it can be put in the GAC and then easily reused by other applications. Once that is signed, you should do the same with your web parts.

However, if you wish to DLLs without strong names then you will need to place all of them in the /bin/ or /_app_bin/ folders of the web application in question. You may also see security restrictions as a result of this. Also, if you have multiple web applications then you will need to copy them to place them in the proper folders for all web apps that will need them. You can see how this could easily become a significant maintenance and troubleshooting issue.

Answer 2

It is recommended to ensure you are referencing the correct assembly (give it a unique identity), and give it added security with a digital signature.

You can reference third party assemblies if you want to, using the Visual Studio command prompt tools:

http://sharepointcoding.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/assign-a-strong-name-to-a-third-party-dll/

Here is an article on assigning strong names specifically to the Enterprise Library assemblies: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/21389/Using-Microsoft-Enterprise-Library-Application-Blo