Dynamically Load Assemblies

You can dynamically switch window, visual object, menu, and some other objects defined in different PB assemblies at runtime. There are three new system functions in PowerBuilder .NET to allow this: AddAssemblyReference, SetAssemblyReference and GetAssemblyReference.

These system functions enable you to add a reference to a PowerBuilder assembly deployed by PowerBuilder .NET at runtime. After adding a reference, all types defined in it can be consumed at runtime. Types in the referenced assembly cannot be directly used to define a variable, a return value, or a parameter. Types are typically used in some system functions as a string parameter where the value is the datatype you want to create.

• AddAssemblyReference
  Adds new PB assembly files to the reference list of the current application at runtime.
• SetAssemblyReference
  Changes PB assembly files to the reference list of the current application at runtime. The difference with AddAssemblyReference is that all PB assemblies in the reference list will be replaced after invoking the function.
• GetAssemblyReference
  Gets valid PB assembly files from the reference list of the current application at runtime.
• Working with Dynamically Loaded Assemblies
  These are some examples of how to work with dynamically loaded assemblies.