Can VB.NET (under VS 2022 or 2019) access 64 bit dlls?

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Simple, and somewhat naïve, questions:

1) Apparently one can generate 64 bit .exe from VB.NET in Visual Studio 2022; how about VS 2019?

2) Assuming one generates a 64 bit .exe for VB.NET, can it access 64 bit DLLs (generated in other languages)? 32 bit DLLs?

Might be a false memory, but I seem to remember a few years ago that VB.NET could not access 64 bit DLLs, only 32 bit DLLs.

Thanks.

What I have tried:

Nothing but a lot of Googling.

Posted 24-Jun-22 13:05pm

lewist57

Updated 24-Jun-22 14:23pm

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Dave Kreskowiak · Accepted Answer · 2022-06-24T14:23:00

This is not imposed by VB.NET or Visual Studio. WINDOWS does not allow mixing of architectures in the same process.

No, you cannot load a 64-bit .DLL in a process running 32-bit, and the other way around. The languages the .DLL's and main executable are written in do not matter.

VB.NET can load 64-bit .DLL's, so long as your executable in running as 64-bit. Go to your project Properties (My Project), Compile tab, look for "Target CPU". If it says "AnyCPU", your app will run as a 32-bit process on 32-bit Windows and as 64-bit on 64-bit Windows. You can change that option to force your app to run as 32-bit (x86), or 64-bit (x64).

The 32-bit app can run on 32- and 64-bit Windows, but a 64-bit app can only run on 64-bit Windows.