Cannot use with F# scripts

[isaacabraham]

Scripts are a common and everyday way to work F# and forms part of the standard development lifecycle. I can't figure out how to use the SqlClient library from within an F# script:

1. Download the nuget package.
2. Try referencing the netstandard version of the library e.g. #r @"C:\Users\Isaac\.nuget\packages\microsoft.data.sqlclient\1.0.19269.1\lib\netstandard2.0\Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.dll.
3. Script will crash when you try to open a connection with a PlatformNotSupported exception.
4. After looking around for a while, read this link.
5. Try to reference the net46 version of the library: #r @"C:\Users\Isaac\.nuget\packages\microsoft.data.sqlclient\1.0.19269.1\lib\net46\Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.dll"
6. Get another exception:

System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SNINativeMethodWrapper' threw an exception. ---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: Failed to load C:\Users\Isaac\.nuget\packages\microsoft.data.sqlclient\1.0.19269.1\lib\net46\x64\SNI.dll
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SNINativeMethodWrapper..cctor() in E:\agent1\_work\34\s\src\Microsoft.Data.SqlClient\netfx\src\Microsoft\Data\Interop\SNINativeMethodWrapper.cs:line 66

I can't find any SNI.dll within the nuget package. How can I get this to work?

Also - why include a netstandard2.0 TFM in the package, if netstandard2.0 is, effectively, not supported? This is misleading and very tightly couples the package to NuGet.

[Wraith2]

Netstandard is supported but it requires a target platform to be resolved in order to restore the correct windows or unix native socket implementation. I think what you're really asking is why there is no fully portable fallback.

Note that SNI.dll on windows isn't the only dependency that is required. You'll also need codepage support and a number of other things like configuration. SqlClient was in-box before and could be used easily because it only had framework dependencies. This library isn't in-box and has external dependencies, they're not really equivalent.

[isaacabraham]

@Wraith2 thanks, that helps to understand it better. Is there a list of these required dependencies anywhere - and if they are not shipped with the nuget package, where are they? Thanks again

[David-Engel]

Is there a list of these required dependencies anywhere - and if they are not shipped with the nuget package, where are they?

The NuGet package contains the details of all the dependencies and the NuGet infrastructure facilitates the downloading and referencing of them all. You can view them in the .nuspec file contained inside the package or on the Nuget website. You will have to fully resolve the dependency tree yourself if you choose not to use the NuGet infrastructure. What you are trying to do is very similar to what this PowerShell developer wanted to do in #161.

[isaacabraham]

@Wraith2 thanks, I will look at that. Note: this is not a matter of choice - NuGet has no support for F# scripts, it only works with applications (.NET exes, libraries) so I have no choice but to go alone here; in the last 5+ years of working with F# this is the first nuget package I've come across that has this issue.

[isaacabraham]

Note also : I have all the dependencies downloaded - it's simply a matter of understanding within the package what things need to be resolved and in what order. This is something I'm not sure is readily visible.

[cheenamalhotra]

Hi @isaacabraham

I can't find any SNI.dll within the nuget package. How can I get this to work?

Please verify the version of NuGet.exe in use is >5.0 when performing nuget restore. If using version >5.0, dependent DLLs (SNI.dll for x64 and x86) should be loaded transitively, look for #137 for more details.

Try referencing the netstandard version of the library e.g. #r @"C:\Users\Isaac.nuget\packages\microsoft.data.sqlclient\1.0.19269.1\lib\netstandard2.0\Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.dll

why include a netstandard2.0 TFM in the package, if netstandard2.0 is, effectively, not supported? This is misleading and very tightly couples the package to NuGet.

NetStandard 2.0 is supported, apparently the correct path to supported DLL is runtimes\<os>\lib\netstandard2.0\Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.dll and not lib\netstandard2.0\Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.dll.

[isaacabraham]

@cheenamalhotra I'm trying to use an F# script, which NuGet doesn't support. We have to manually reference the individual assemblies in the packages to get things to work. Thanks for that link, I will look into it.

[cheenamalhotra]

I see. Looks like there is a workaround with msbuild /t:restore, have you tried that? (NuGet/Home#7743 (comment))

[cheenamalhotra]

Either way, as it turns out known limitation from NuGet, I would like to close this issue at our end and suggest registering issues with NuGet and Visual Studio to support package reference for F# scripts.

[isaacabraham]

@cheenamalhotra This is in an F# script. There is no msbuild. We just reference dlls manually. It's nothing to do with NuGet - I just need to know which DLLs to reference :-/

[David-Engel]

It looks like nuget package support is something they recently merged over at fsharp: dotnet/fsharp#5850
https://twitter.com/realvictorprm/status/1173639408693723136?s=19
I don't know what their release schedule looks like or what release it is or will be in, but you can probably find more news over there.

[isaacabraham]

@David-Engel that's not until net5 - forget about that, it's a red herring :-) Currently we reference individual DLLs for scripts. It works very well and there's decent tooling around that as well. In this case it's not working because of the native dlls, so I need to add them manually. I just need to know what they are - is it really not possible to get a list of them?

[isaacabraham]

@cheenamalhotra perhaps open this again?