Assemblies & DLLs?

[Arpan]

Assume that I am creating ASP.NET pages in the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\ASPX
directory. This directory has a sub-directory named \bin where in all
DLLs are stored. Are these DLLs which are stored in the \bin directory
known as Assemblies? Also is the \bin directory the Assembly Cache?

Thanks,

Arpan

 

[Scott M.]

An "Assembly" is simply the compiled output or "basic unit of deployment" of
a .NET program. As such, in .NET, asseblies can either be .dll or .exe
files. A project's assembly and the private assemblies it references are
stored in the project's \bin folder.

Assemblies come in 2 "flavors", private and shared. All user defined
assemblies are private, by default (and reside in the project's \bin
folder). These assemblies are NOT registered into the GAC. There are a few
extra steps you must take to get an assembly ready for registration into the
GAC and then it can be added to the GAC. These assemblies are called shared
assemblies.

 

[Arpan]

Scott, what is this GAC?

Arpan

An "Assembly" is simply the compiled output or "basic unit of deployment" of
a .NET program. As such, in .NET, asseblies can either be .dll or .exe
files. A project's assembly and the private assemblies it references are
stored in the project's \bin folder.

Assemblies come in 2 "flavors", private and shared. All user defined
assemblies are private, by default (and reside in the project's \bin
folder). These assemblies are NOT registered into the GAC. There are a few
extra steps you must take to get an assembly ready for registration into the
GAC and then it can be added to the GAC. These assemblies are called shared
assemblies.

 

[Juan T. Llibre]

Start here :
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...-us/cpguide/html/cpconglobalassemblycache.asp

For instructions on how to use the GAC :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315682/

 

[Scott M.]

The Global Assembly Cache is a form of registry (not the same as the Windows
Registry) for shared Assemblies (assemblies that more than one program
uses). Rather than having the same .dll in several different \bin folders
of several different applications, the GAC provides a cental location and
means for maintaining multiple versions of an assembly.