DLL Questions

[Kevin Vaughn]

I need to create a simple .dll file that handles usernames and passwords.
I've never created a .dll before, but now there's definitely a need for
security reasons.

I've read enough to hear people talk about referencing the .dll in the
project. To be honest, I'm writing all of my ASP.NET pages with Ultraedit
so I don't think I can do that. Do I need to run off and install VS.NET and
then come back?

What I really need is a standalone .dll that I can reference with a <%@ %>
tag, and will simply return the relevant information back to the calling
program. Is that even possible?

So far, I've managed to write a test script and compile it with vbc.exe, but
I'm not even sure how to test it.

What are the exact steps I would need to go through to get this done? Is
there a resource on the Internet that I've overlooked? I would appreciate
your help.

-Kevin

 

[Cowboy \(Gregory A. Beamer\)]

Visual Studio .NET will simplify your life, so I would suggest you use it.
It is not mandatory, if you feel comfortable with the command line compiler.
From ultra edit, you can create a class file and compile it using either
vbc.exe (VB.NET) or csc.exe (C#) or similar. The command line compiler
directives are included in the help file.

To reference the compiled .NET DLL (library), you will have to compile the
application with references. VS.NET makes this really easy, so, again, I
suggest using it, but you can command line compile the web app, as well.

If you use UltraEdit because you are comfortable with coding in it, you can
have VS.NET create the solution(s) and project(s) and configure VS.NET to
use UltraEdit as your editor. This can be configured on both a project and
an overall basis, so you have some flexibility while you learn VS.NET.

Another option is downloading CSharp Develop (which also does VB.NET) and
using it instead. It is a nice editor (not quite UltraEdit) that is
available free from www.sourceforge.com. It can work with VS.NET solutions
and projects, so it gives another option if the pricing of VS.NET is an
issue.