In Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit, the community plugin CR_Documentor (version 2.4.0.0, available here: http://cr-documentor.googlecode.com/files/CR_Documentor-2.4.0.0.zip) appears to cause a loader error which doesn't allow the plugin to load. This same error is not received in a Windows XP 32-bit environment.
The relevant error appears to be:
<item category="DXCore Loader" color="ARGB:255:225:225:225">
<message>Exception occurred while attempting to load assembly at "C:\Users\grosch\Documents\DevExpress\IDE Tools\Community\PlugIns\CR_Documentor.dll". (System.IO.FileLoadException)</message>
<imageindex>3</imageindex>
<timestamp>2010-03-05 12:54:22Z</timestamp>
<datatype>System.IO.FileLoadException, mscorlib</datatype>
<data>System.IO.FileLoadException
Could not load file or assembly 'file:///C:\Users\grosch\Documents\DevExpress\IDE Tools\Community\PlugIns\CR_Documentor.dll' or one of its dependencies. Operation is not supported. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131515)
mscorlib
System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly _nLoad(System.Reflection.AssemblyName, System.String, System.Security.Policy.Evidence, System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly, System.Threading.StackCrawlMark ByRef, Boolean, Boolean, Boolean)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly._nLoad(AssemblyName fileName, String codeBase, Evidence assemblySecurity, RuntimeAssembly locationHint, StackCrawlMark& stackMark, Boolean throwOnFileNotFound, Boolean forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.nLoad(AssemblyName fileName, String codeBase, Evidence assemblySecurity, RuntimeAssembly locationHint, StackCrawlMark& stackMark, Boolean throwOnFileNotFound, Boolean forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.InternalLoadAssemblyName(AssemblyName assemblyRef, Evidence assemblySecurity, StackCrawlMark& stackMark, Boolean forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeAssembly.InternalLoadFrom(String assemblyFile, Evidence securityEvidence, Byte[] hashValue, AssemblyHashAlgorithm hashAlgorithm, Boolean forIntrospection, Boolean suppressSecurityChecks, StackCrawlMark& stackMark)
at System.Reflection.Assembly.LoadFrom(String assemblyFile)
at DevExpress.DXCore.Loader.PlugInAssembly.LoadAssembly(String path, Assembly& loadedAssembly)</data>
<items>
<item category="DXCore Loader" color="ARGB:255:225:225:225">
<message>Exception occurred while attempting to load assembly at "C:\Users\grosch\Documents\DevExpress\IDE Tools\Community\PlugIns\CR_Documentor.dll". (System.NotSupportedException)</message>
<imageindex>3</imageindex>
<timestamp>2010-03-05 12:54:22Z</timestamp>
<datatype>System.NotSupportedException, mscorlib</datatype>
<data>System.NotSupportedException
An attempt was made to load an assembly from a network location which would have caused the assembly to be sandboxed in previous versions of the .NET Framework. This release of the .NET Framework does not enable CAS policy by default, so this load may be dangerous. If this load is not intended to sandbox the assembly, please enable the loadFromRemoteSources switch. See http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=155569 for more information.
</data>
</item>
</items>
</item>
The plugin has a [assembly: SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.RequestMinimum)] attribute on it, and I'm guessing this has something to do with that, but this doesn't appear to affect the 32-bit environment.
A full log is attached.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Install the CR_Documentor plugin on a 32-bit environment.
- Load VS2010.
- Open the DevExpress menu and then the Tool Windows menu.
- Select "Documentor." The CR_Documentor window should appear.
- Install the CR_Documentor plugin on a 64-bit environment.
- Load VS2010.
- Open the DevExpress menu and then the Tool Windows menu.
- Notice the Documentor tool window is not available.
Actual Results:
CR_Documentor is not available on 64-bit but is on 32-bit.
Expected Results:
CR_Documentor should be available on all platforms.
I attempted removing the [SecurityPermission] from the assembly but that didn't seem to fix the loader issue.
Hi Travis,
Thank you for the report, and for providing the logs.
I see the problem is the log, but I can't currently try to reproduce the problem locally, because at the moment we have no machine, where Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit is installed. So, we need some time to prepare a test environment. I'll contact you as soon as we have any results, or need any extra information. Please wait a bit.
Thanks,
Vito
Hi Travis,
We've examined this problem, but haven't found the exact cause of this behavior. We do see the issue locally when attempting to load the plug-in you provided (http://cr-documentor.googlecode.com/files/CR_Documentor-2.4.0.0.zip). But, we've tried to recompile it on our side (using these sources: http://cr-documentor.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/), and the problem went away. Attached is the plug-in, compiled at our end. Please try it on your side, and let us know how it goes.
We've also found that the plug-in you provided is loaded fine if the "loadFromRemoteSources" option is enabled in the devenv.exe.config. Please look at the following article to learn more on this subject:
<loadFromRemoteSources> Element
The problem as a whole seems to be connected to setting the "[assembly: SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.RequestMinimum)]" attribute, and it is very strange that removing it doesn't fix the problem on your side. Can you please provide us with the new CR_Documentor assembly, compiled without this attribute, so that we can check how it is loaded on our side?
Thanks,
Vito
Attached is a version of CR_Documentor, built from the trunk of the source, compiled in my usual fashion (on WinXP, command-line build via MSBuild) that excludes the SecurityPermissionAttribute on the assembly. I've validated the assembly can load on WinXP. I have one of my users (who originally discovered the issue) testing to see if the issue continues to appear on Win7 x64 as I don't actually have an environment myself to test with. Let me know what you find.
I had my end user test the version of CR_Documentor that you compiled as well as the version I provided without the [SecurityPermission] attribute. Neither version worked for him - the CR_Documentor tool window entry never showed up on the DevExpress tool window menu.
My end user was able to compile the code himself and it worked fine. After hearing that, I had him try something else that maybe you could try:
Use the original CR_Documentor assembly from the CR_Documentor web site. Put it in your Community Plugins folder as usual. Before loading VS, right-click it, go to the Properties on the assembly, and "unblock" the assembly. Win7 knows the assembly didn't originate on your machine so it may be blocking something that lets it load.
Does that work for you? It worked for my end user. If that's the solution, I can update my install instructions with info on how to fix it. It'll be something all the community extension writers will need to be aware of.
Hi Travis,
Thank you for the response, and for providing additional information.
Yes, the initial assembly you provided is loaded fine on our side if we "unblock" it. So, it looks as if this Windows 7 specificity is the cause of this loading problem.
Thanks,
Vito