Deploying the Validation Application Block

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Applications that use the Validation Application Block can be deployed in one of two configurations:

  • As private assemblies in the application folder hierarchy
  • As shared assemblies in any file system location or in the global assembly cache

Deploying the Validation Application Block as Private Assemblies

If the application does not have to use the services available from the global assembly cache, the Validation Application Block assemblies can be deployed in the application directory structure. This simplifies deployment because you can use the xcopy command to install the entire application, including the Validation Application Block assemblies, on the destination computer. If multiple applications on the same computer use the Validation Application Block, you can install a copy of the assemblies in each application folder hierarchy. By doing this, you can independently update each application's copy of the assemblies.

Deploying the Validation Application Block as Shared Assemblies

You can assign a strong name to the Validation Application Block assemblies. This is a recommended practice for security reasons. Both Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework SDK include tools to assign strong names. After assemblies are assigned strong names, they can be deployed in a shared location and used by multiple applications. You can deploy the assembly in any file system location and add a <codeBase> element that specifies the location of the assemblies in the application configuration file of each application that uses the Validation Application Block. For an explanation of how to strong name the Enterprise Library assemblies, see Strong Naming Enterprise Library Assemblies.

A more likely scenario is that you deploy shared assemblies in the global assembly cache, which allows all applications on the computer to use the same assemblies. You can use one of the following tools to install an assembly in the global assembly cache, or you can drag and drop the assembly into the assembly folder:

  • An installer program, such as the Microsoft Windows Installer, version 2.0
  • The Global Assembly Cache Tool command line utility (Gacutil.exe)
  • The .NET Admin MMC snap-in (Mscorcfg.msc)
Retired Content

This content is outdated and is no longer being maintained. It is provided as a courtesy for individuals who are still using these technologies. This page may contain URLs that were valid when originally published, but now link to sites or pages that no longer exist.
The latest Enterprise Library information can be found at the Enterprise Library site.