This is an example module that uses the ALC Loader setup.
The ALC Loader example has two assemblies in the module:
ALCLoader.dll- Contains the cmdlets and any dep references inside the ALC
ALCLoader.Shared.dll- Shared code and where the ALC setup code is located
Some pros and cons using this method over the ALC Resolver example are:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Assembly deps can be used by the cmdlet directly | Requires an internal method to support force importing a module a 2nd time |
| No need for an OnImport or OnRemove to cleanup the ALC | Still requires a .psm1 to load the assembly |
| Can still share data type with the caller using the shared assembly | |
| The exact dependency is loaded, it won't use any existing loaded assemblies |
The module consists of 3 components:
- PowerShell module ALCLoader.psd1 and ALCLoader.psm1`
- Shared Assembly util ALCLoader.Shared
- Binary module assembly ALCLoader
The names of the C# projects used here don't have to be exactly the same, the key part is the ALCLoader.Shared contains the AssemblyLoadContext setup code and ALCLoader contains the cmdlets and code that calls the deps which are contained in the ALC.
When PowerShell loads ALCLoader it will run the code in ALCLoader.psm1 which on PowerShell 7 will create the ALC.
This is done by calling ALCLoader.Shared.LoadContext to create the ALC, load our binary module, and return the loaded assembly inside that ALC.
Finally the psm1 will then load the assembly as normal and export the cmdlets within that assembly.