Hello Community,
in my opinion dynamic loading of dotNET assembly DLLs at the runtime a necessity. Therefore here a first approach how this possibility can be realized.
At first I developed a tiny library, which I packed in a NuGet.
------------------------------
Stefan Schnell
Senior Systems Engineer at BWI GmbH
------------------------------
in my opinion dynamic loading of dotNET assembly DLLs at the runtime a necessity. Therefore here a first approach how this possibility can be realized.
At first I developed a tiny library, which I packed in a NuGet.
//-Begin----------------------------------------------------------------
using System;
namespace test {
public class nuget {
public string mtest(string Input = "") {
if(String.IsNullOrEmpty(Input)) {
return "Hello World";
} else {
return "Hello " + Input;
}
}
}
}
//-End------------------------------------------------------------------
In the next step I installed this NuGet package at the target system in the UserProfile directory.
nuget.exe Install TestNuget -Source "%cd%" -OutputDirectory "%USERPROFILE%\.nuget"
And with a Code Stage I call the method of this library dynamically, independently from the customizing in the Code Options.
//-Begin----------------------------------------------------------------
Result = string.Empty;
ErrRet = string.Empty;
string UserDir = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("UserProfile");
string DLLPath = UserDir + "\\.nuget\\TestNuget.1.0.0\\lib\\net40";
try {
//-Loads assembly-----------------------------------------------------
Assembly TestNugetDLL = Assembly.LoadFile(DLLPath + "\\TestNuget.dll");
//-Gets the class type------------------------------------------------
Type TestNugetClass = TestNugetDLL.GetType("test.nuget");
if(TestNugetClass == null) {
return;
}
//-Gets the method----------------------------------------------------
MethodInfo mtest = TestNugetClass.GetMethod("mtest");
//-Creates instance of the class--------------------------------------
object TestNugetObj = Activator.CreateInstance(TestNugetClass);
//-Call method without parameter--------------------------------------
var oResult = mtest.Invoke(TestNugetObj, new object[] { null });
Result = oResult.ToString();
Result += Environment.NewLine;
//-Call method with parameter-----------------------------------------
oResult = mtest.Invoke(TestNugetObj, new object[] { "Stefan" });
Result += oResult.ToString();
} catch(Exception ex) {
ErrRet = ex.Message;
}
//-End------------------------------------------------------------------
Only the namespace System.Reflection must be included.
Yes, including the library and calling the methods is "a bit cumbersome". But this approach offers a great possibility, to call methods of an assembly which are not in the program directory of BP. This separation simplifies especially the deployment of libraries.
Enjoy it.
Best regards
Stefan
------------------------------
Stefan Schnell
Senior Systems Engineer at BWI GmbH
------------------------------
Hello Community,
to verify my approach I tried to use the integration of AutoIt scripting language, I have described the basic approach here in the context of different RPA platforms.
I was particularly interested in using the existing NuGet package.
I installed the existing NuGet package in the user directory.
In the next step I build an object to use the AutoIt library.
Here the Code Stage:
It works as expected.
This approach shows us how to use libraries of NuGet packages with BP, with the advantage that the libraries no longer have to be stored in the BP program directory. In addition, we also see how AutoIt can be seamlessly integrated with BP via its CLI.
Enjoy it.
Best regards
Stefan
------------------------------
Stefan Schnell
Senior Systems Engineer at BWI GmbH
------------------------------
to verify my approach I tried to use the integration of AutoIt scripting language, I have described the basic approach here in the context of different RPA platforms.
I was particularly interested in using the existing NuGet package.
I installed the existing NuGet package in the user directory.
In the next step I build an object to use the AutoIt library.
Here the Code Stage:
//-Begin----------------------------------------------------------------
//-Initialization of output variables-----------------------------------
Result = string.Empty;
ErrorMessage = string.Empty;
//-Check if file exists-------------------------------------------------
if(!File.Exists(AutoItFileName)) {
ErrorMessage = "File not found";
Console.WriteLine(ErrorMessage);
return;
}
string UserDir = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("UserProfile");
string DLLPath = UserDir + "\\.nuget\\AutoIt4dotNET.1.0.0\\lib\\net40";
try {
//-Loads AutoIt assembly----------------------------------------------
Assembly AutoItDLL = Assembly.LoadFile(DLLPath + "\\AutoIt4dotNET.dll");
//-Gets the class type------------------------------------------------
Type AutoItClass = AutoItDLL.GetType("AutoIt4dotNET");
if(AutoItClass == null) {
return;
}
//-Gets the method----------------------------------------------------
MethodInfo Run = AutoItClass.GetMethod("Run");
//-Creates instance of the class--------------------------------------
object AutoIt = Activator.CreateInstance(AutoItClass);
//-Call method--------------------------------------------------------
var oResult = Run.Invoke(AutoIt, new object[] {
AutoItFileName,
Arguments,
Convert.ToInt32(TimeOut),
x64,
"", //-Path to AutoIt if local available, not necessary here
OutputDebug
});
Result = oResult.ToString();
} catch(Exception ex) {
ErrorMessage = ex.Message;
}
//-End------------------------------------------------------------------It works as expected.
This approach shows us how to use libraries of NuGet packages with BP, with the advantage that the libraries no longer have to be stored in the BP program directory. In addition, we also see how AutoIt can be seamlessly integrated with BP via its CLI.
Enjoy it.
Best regards
Stefan
------------------------------
Stefan Schnell
Senior Systems Engineer at BWI GmbH
------------------------------
