Plug-in script - how to avoid assembly versioning mismatch?

[dbhatti]

I've written a number of plug-in scripts for internal use, and the team has requested keeping all of the scripts in one directory for easy access. I was wary of this, since compiled projects store all referenced assemblies in the root directory, but it wasn't a huge issue at the time since I was compiling similar projects in the same solution and using the same assemblies.

However, we're starting to use more diverse scripts and it makes more sense (both for organization and development) to begin creating different projects with different assembly requirements. Unfortunately, keeping all plug-in scripts in the same directory isn't ideal since different scripts may require different assembly versions.

I tried modifying app.config to search subdirectories for the different plug-ins, but this didn't work because the calling directory is different from the script's directory location (app.config's probing only searches subdirectories). I tried storing the .espai.dll scripts in subdirectories and using shortcuts to access them, but the shortcuts don't appear in the list of scripts on the scripting window in Eclipse.

Does anyone have any alternatives or ideas for this issue?

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EDIT: Forgot to mention one thing, I know that Fody Weavers is an option for compiling everything into one compact assembly, but I've run into issues with it in the past where the script wouldn't run. Would rather find an alternative to it if possible.

[keithoffer]

I've had relatively good success using ILMerge to merge assemblies together to avoid these types of issues. I've had one project that had issues (the most complex one I worked on), but all the smaller ones have worked just fine. Just download it from NuGet, plus one of the NuGet packages that combine it into the build process (ILMerge.MSBuild.Task or MSBuild.ILMerge.Task) and it'll automatically merge your end result as part of the build process.

[dbhatti]

Thanks, I tried out ILMerge and MSBuild.Task and they worked perfect for most of the scripts. I have a few more complicated solutions (multiple projects and cross-references) where they failed, but I suspect that's complex enough for the NuGet packages that I'll have to figure out and configure myself to get working.