Adding Application Code

The following procedure explains how to incorporate the Validation Application Block into your application.

To prepare your application

1. Add a reference to the Validation Application Block assembly. In Visual Studio, right-click your project node in Solution Explorer, and then click Add Reference. Click the Browse tab and find the location of the Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.dll assembly. Select the assembly, and then click OK to add the reference.

2. Use the same procedure to set a reference to the following assemblies:

   • Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common.dll
   • Microsoft.Practices.ServiceLocation.dll
   • Microsoft.Practices.Unity.dll
   • Microsoft.Practices.Unity.Interception.dll

3. If you are using the ASP.NET, WPF, Windows Forms, or WCF integration assemblies, add one of the following references as appropriate.

   • Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.Integration.WinForms.dll
   • Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.Integration.AspNet.dll
   • Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.Integration.WPF.dll
   • Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.Integration.WCF.dll

4. (Optional) To use elements from the Validation Application Block without fully qualifying the type with the namespace, add the following using statements (C#) or Imports statements (Visual Basic) to the top of your source code file.

   using Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation;
   using Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.Validators;
   

   'Usage
   Imports Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation
   Imports Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation.Validators
   

Note

For Visual Basic projects, you can use the References page of the Project Designer to manage references and imported namespaces. To access the References page, select a project node in Solution Explorer. On the Project menu, click Properties. When the Project Designer appears, click the References tab.