Use a Visual Studio embedded resource to store binary blobs of data (like a ZIP file)

/// <summary>
      /// Retrieve a byte array from an embedded resource.
      /// This function uses Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream() to read an embedded resource.
      /// The use of embedded resources allows the .EXE or assembly to be used as a container for 
      /// data/blobs that might otherwise be stored in an external file.
      /// </summary>
      /// <param name="resourceNameArg">Name of file embedded in project, e.g. "MyData.bin"</param>
      /// <returns>An array of bytes containing the resource contents.</returns>
      /// <remarks>
      /// Instructions:
      /// 1) Add a file to the project e.g., MyData.bin, text.txt, database.mdb, final.hex etc.
      /// 2) For that file, set its Properties / Build Action = Embedded Resource.
      ///    Other properties keep defaults (do not copy, blank tool, blank namespace).
      /// 3) At runtime, retrieve resource using this static function.
      ///  
      /// Notes:
      /// 1) A re-build of the project includes any changes to the resource file - automatically.
      /// 2) The resource editor isn't used and doesn't show the embedded resource.
      /// 3) This technique can be used for 'blobs' or non-typical resources such as:
      ///       Binary data, databases, information generated by external compilers/tools.
      /// 4) To get a list of resource names during development, inspect this:
      ///       System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceNames()
      ///    The resource name is the embedded file, prepended with the app name e.g., "MyApplication.MyData.bin"
      ///    and the name passed to this function would be "MyData.bin" (without the app name).
      /// 5) This function is static; can be accessed by forms, app etc.
      /// 6) For big resources, consider using the stream rather than a byte[].
      /// 7) resourceManager is an alternative approach to get a stream
      ///    But, the resource name gets changed/mangled.
      ///      ResourceManager resourceManager = new ResourceManager(assembly.GetName().Name + ".Properties.Resources", assembly);
      ///      stream = resourceManager.GetStream(resourceNameArg); 
      /// 8) A clumsy alternative to an embedded resource might involve converting 
      ///    data into C# code used to initialize a byte array e.g.:
      ///       public static byte[] some_bin = new byte[]
      ///       {
      ///          0x02, 0x07, 0xF3, 0xAA, 0xAA, ...
      ///       };
      /// </remarks>
      /// <see>
      /// http://stackoverflow.com/questions/725915/how-to-access-a-binary-resource-in-a-c-application
      /// http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa287676%28v=vs.71%29.aspx
      /// </see>
      static private byte[] GetResourceBytes( string resourceNameArg )
      {
 
         Stream stream = GetResourceStream(resourceNameArg);
 
         if (stream == null)
         {
            return null; // resource not found.
         }
 
         byte[] bytes = new byte[stream.Length];
 
         stream.Read( bytes, 0, (int)stream.Length);
 
         return bytes;
 
      }
 
      /// <summary>
      /// Retrieve a Stream from an embedded resource.
      /// This function uses Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream() to get a Stream for an embedded resource.
      /// The use of embedded resources allows the .EXE or assembly to be used as a container for data/blobs
      /// that might otherwise be stored in an external file.
      /// </summary>
      /// <param name="resourceNameArg">Name of file embedded in project, e.g. "MyData.bin"</param>
      /// <returns>A Stream for the embedded resource. It'll be null if the resource cannot be found.</returns>
      /// <example>
      /// // Get an array of strings, similar to System.IO.File.ReadAllLines()
      /// Stream s = GetResourceStream("MyData.bin");
      /// StreamReader r = new StreamReader(s);
      /// string str = r.ReadToEnd();
      /// string[] lines = str.Split(new char[] { '\r', '\n' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
      /// </example>
      static private Stream GetResourceStream(string resourceNameArg)
      {
         System.Reflection.Assembly assembly = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
 
         string resourceName = assembly.GetName().Name + "." + resourceNameArg;
         // Expect a string of the form "MyApp.MyData.bin".
 
         System.IO.Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName);
 
         return stream;
      }