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Asked: 2026-06-16T19:52:07+00:00

I am new to Windows 8 App Store development and have bumped into something

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I am new to Windows 8 App Store development and have bumped into something strange.

If I create a normal .net library (signed library) and attempt to add it to my Windows Store application, Visual Studio 2012 moans that I can’t add this project. Both projects are in the same solution.

This project contains a reference to the System.Net assembly, as I use some of the types from there. I know that System.Net is not a fully supported namespace. TcpClient, NetworkStream, etc have all been removed. I also know that StreamSocket, DataReader and DataWriter in the Windows.Networking namespace is the alternative.

Before I loose you, let me get to the point. Instead of adding the compiled assembly from this project as a project reference to the Windows Store application, I browse for the compiled assembly on my hard drive and reference the assembly directly.

To my surprise, this worked! This leads me to the following questions:

  • Why? That doesn’t make sense to me. Someone please explain.
  • Also, if I use this library, will the Windows Store reject my application? Answering the second question myself… Answer is YES! Windows Certification App, no longer recognises this as a Windows Store App if the mentioned library is referenced.
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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    There are a couple ways to add an assembly reference to a project:

    Add assembly reference to a project in same solution.
    Browse for an assembly somewhere on your hard drive.

    In Visual Studio 2012, if you add a non compliant WinRT assembly reference to a WinRT project, Visual Studio 2012 won’t allow it.

    However, if you add the same assembly to the WinRT project by browsing on your hard drive, the assembly is referenced successfully. This only works if the referenced assembly is signed with a strong key. I’m not sure if this is a flaw in the product or intentional.

    Microsoft makes up for this flaw (if it infact is one) later on when passing your Windows Store App through certification. Certification fails because it recognises that an assembly has been referenced in the project which is not appropriate for a Windows App Store product.

    So in summary, you can NOT reference WinRT assemblies in your WinRT projects. The drawback with doing this is that your app will fail Windows App Store validation. The advantage with this is if you are not developing a Windows App Store product, you can re-use work you’ve already done.

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