Assembly Binding Redirects: When and How Should I Use Them?

Assembly Binding Redirect: Why and How

Assembly binding redirects are a mechanism used in .NET applications to handle versioning conflicts between dependent assemblies. They allow developers to specify a range of allowed versions for a particular assembly, ensuring that the correct version is loaded at runtime.

Understanding Binding Redirects

A binding redirect consists of two main components: the old version and the new version. The old version specifies the range of versions that are being redirected, and the new version indicates the version that should be loaded instead.

Why Major Version Only?

Binding redirects typically only specify the major version of the assembly, leaving out minor, build, and revision numbers. This is because it allows for greater flexibility and backward compatibility. By redirecting to the latest major version, developers ensure that their applications will load the most recent compatible version of the assembly, even if it has minor updates.

Changing Versions

The old and new versions in a binding redirect are generally changed when there is a change in the major version of the assembly. This is because major version changes typically indicate significant changes in the assembly's functionality or compatibility. Redirecting to the new major version ensures that applications will not attempt to load incompatible versions.

Example

Consider the following binding redirect entry:

<dependentassembly>
    <assemblyidentity name="FooBar" publickeytoken="32ab4ba45e0a69a1" culture="en-us"></assemblyidentity>  

    <bindingredirect oldversion="7.0.0.0" newversion="8.0.0.0"></bindingredirect>  
</dependentassembly>

This redirect specifies that all versions of the FooBar assembly in the range 7.0.0.0 to 7.9.9.999 should be redirected to version 8.0.0.0. By doing so, applications that reference FooBar will always load version 8.0.0.0 at runtime, ensuring that they have the latest compatible version of the assembly.

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