How Can I Load and Instantiate a .NET Assembly Knowing Only Its Name and Class Name?

Dynamically Loading and Creating Instances of .NET Assemblies

In many development scenarios, you might need to load and create an instance of a .NET assembly at runtime, knowing only its name and the class you want to use. This is different from traditional referencing, where you explicitly add a reference to your project.

Using Assembly.LoadFrom and Activator.CreateInstance

The .NET framework provides the tools to handle this. Assembly.LoadFrom loads the assembly into memory, making its types accessible. Then, Activator.CreateInstance creates an instance of the specified class within that assembly.

Code Example

Here's how you can load an assembly and create a class instance:

<code class="language-csharp">Assembly assembly = Assembly.LoadFrom("library.dll");

Type type = assembly.GetType("Company.Project.Classname");

object instanceOfClassname = Activator.CreateInstance(type);</code>

Handling Unknown Paths

If the DLL's exact path is unknown, Assembly.LoadFrom won't work. In this situation, you can try Activator.CreateInstance(assemblyName, typeName). This method attempts to locate the type based on the assembly and type names. If unsuccessful, you can search specific directories for the assembly and then use Assembly.LoadFrom for instantiation.

This approach adds runtime flexibility to your applications, allowing them to interact with assemblies without prior explicit referencing.

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