Adding reference to correct version of IBM.Data.Informix library

Question

When I go to reference the Informix client libraries for .NET in Visual Studio (Website->Add Reference) they show up as IBM.Data.Informix (version: 2.81.0.0; Runtime: v1.1.4322; Path: C:...\Client-SDK\bin\netf11\IBM.Data.Informix.dll)

This actually works, but after running into some trouble loading my application on the production server (which has a different set of client libraries installed), I noticed there are 2 directories installed with the Informix Client SDK: \bin\netf11\ and \bin\netf20. The library in netf20 has Assembly Version 3.0.0.2.

So, my question is, how do I make the IBM.Data.Informix.dll from the netf20 directory show up in my Add Reference dialog?

Additionally, will anything go wrong if I take a copy of the .dll from my PC and throw it in the /bin/ directory in the production server? I'm not keen to install a new version of the Informix client on the server until I at least figure out what the problem is...

Answer 1

If you build your project for .Net 2.0 I would copy the netf20 DLL to some folder in your solution (e.g. ref or lib) and then add a reference to this copy of the DLL. The Add Reference Dialog has the option to browse for a DLL in the file system.

If your application runs with .Net 1.0 then it should be safe to deploy the netf10 DLL as a "private" assembly in the bin folder of your application.