.NET assemblies

An assembly is a .NET library or collection of classes. The WebClient Application Assembler can handle assemblies like other application files, enabling you to package them into components. Your OpenEdge GUI application might use the following types of assemblies that you need to include in your deployment:

The IntelliStream System Tasks Definition dialog includes functionality to aid you in deploying the assemblies for the run-time versions of the OpenEdge Ultra Controls for .NET:

This functionality reads your application's Assembly References File (assemblies.xml) and chooses only those Ultra Controls used in your application for deployment. For more information on using this functionality, see the online help for the WebClient Application Assembler.

You must ensure that you deploy assemblies in the correct location. Progress Software Corporation recommends that you deploy assemblies in the "At Startup" component to ensure that they are available when required. If your application includes third-party assemblies that must be installed in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC), you must include a separate installer for them that the WebClient can launch. For example, you might add an IntelliStream ABL Install Procedure to your WebClient deployment that executes the necessary installers.

For an Administrator installation, the WebClient Initializer defaults to copying the controls to the <WebClient-install>\bin directory. For a personal installation, it defaults to copying the controls to the <WebClient-App-install> directory. However, if the application's command line includes the Assemblies (-assemblies) startup parameter, the Initializer copies the controls to that directory instead for both installation types.

For more information on deploying assemblies, see the chapter on maintaining user environments in OpenEdge Deployment: Managing ABL Applications.