.NET Common Language Runtime Unleashed

Windows Client Installation Problems

DLL Hell is manifest when you install your application that relies on certain system DLLs to provide specific functionality. After your system is installed and running, someone else installs his software and updates the DLLs on which your system relies. In the worst-case scenario, your application no longer functions as it did. The APIs in the replaced DLLs no longer function as your software expects them to, and your code breaks. You could take a Draconian stance that no modifications should be made to the software on a given system, but this is your customer's computer—you really cannot dictate what happens.

When you upgrade to a new version of a DLL, the old version is removed by necessity. If the new version ...