An assembly is the basic building block in .NET. It is the compiled format of a class, that contains Metadata, Manisfest & Intermediate Language code.
An assembly may be either Public or Private. A public assembly means the same as Shared Assembly.
Private Assembly :
This type of assembly is used by a single application. It is stored in the application's directory or the applications sub-directory. There is no version constraint in a private assembly.
Shared Assembly or Public Assembly :
A shared assembly has version constraint. It is stored in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). GAC is a repository of shared assemblies maintained by the .NET runtime. It is located at C:\Windows\Assembly OR C:\Winnt\Assembly. The shared assemblies may be used by many applications. To make an assembly a shared assembly, it has to be strongly named. In order to share an assembly with many applications, it must have a strong name.
A Strong Name assembly is an assembly that has its own identity, through its version and uniqueness.
An assembly may be either Public or Private. A public assembly means the same as Shared Assembly.
Private Assembly :
This type of assembly is used by a single application. It is stored in the application's directory or the applications sub-directory. There is no version constraint in a private assembly.
Shared Assembly or Public Assembly :
A shared assembly has version constraint. It is stored in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). GAC is a repository of shared assemblies maintained by the .NET runtime. It is located at C:\Windows\Assembly OR C:\Winnt\Assembly. The shared assemblies may be used by many applications. To make an assembly a shared assembly, it has to be strongly named. In order to share an assembly with many applications, it must have a strong name.
A Strong Name assembly is an assembly that has its own identity, through its version and uniqueness.
