<codeBase> Element

Article
05/25/2022

Specifies where the common language runtime can find an assembly.

<configuration>
  <runtime>
    <assemblyBinding>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <codeBase>

Syntax

   <codeBase
        version="Assembly version"
        href="URL of assembly"/>

Attributes and Elements

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.

Attributes

Attribute	Description
`href`	Required attribute. Specifies the URL where the runtime can find the specified version of the assembly.
`version`	Required attribute. Specifies the version of the assembly the codebase applies to. The format of an assembly version number is major.minor.build.revision.

version Attribute

Value	Description
Valid values for each part of the version number are 0 to 65535.	Not applicable.

Child Elements

None.

Parent Elements

Element	Description
`buildproviders`	Defines a collection of build providers used to compile custom resource files. You can have any number of build providers.
`compilation`	Configures all the compilation settings that ASP.NET uses.
`configuration`	The root element in every configuration file used by the common language runtime and .NET Framework applications.
`System.web`	Specifies the root element for the ASP.NET configuration section.

Remarks

For the runtime to use the <codeBase> setting in a machine configuration file or publisher policy file, the file must also redirect the assembly version. Application configuration files can have a codebase setting without redirecting the assembly version. After determining which assembly version to use, the runtime applies the codebase setting from the file that determines the version. If no codebase is indicated, the runtime probes for the assembly in the usual way.

If the assembly has a strong name, the codebase setting can be anywhere on the local intranet or the Internet. If the assembly is a private assembly, the codebase setting must be a path relative to the application's directory.

For assemblies without a strong name, version is ignored and the loader uses the first appearance of <codebase> inside <dependentAssembly>. If there is an entry in the application configuration file that redirects binding to another assembly, the redirection will take precedence even if the assembly version doesn't match the binding request.

Example

The following example shows how to specify where the runtime can find an assembly.

<configuration>
   <runtime>
      <assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
         <dependentAssembly>
            <assemblyIdentity name="myAssembly"
                              publicKeyToken="32ab4ba45e0a69a1"
                              culture="neutral" />
            <codeBase version="2.0.0.0"
                      href="http://www.litwareinc.com/myAssembly.dll"/>
         </dependentAssembly>
      </assemblyBinding>
   </runtime>
</configuration>

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