A .NET assembly is a compiled representation of one or more classes. Each assembly is self-contained, that is, the assembly includes the metadata about the assembly as a whole.
Assemblies can be private or shared. Private assemblies, which are used by a limited number of applications, are placed in the application folder or one of its subfolders. For example, even if the client has two different applications that call a private assembly named formulas, each client application loads the correct assembly.
Shared assemblies, which are available to multiple client applications, are placed in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). Each shared assembly is assigned a strong name to handle name and version conflicts. A strong name consists of the assembly's simple text name, version number, and a public key and a digital signature.
The OpenAccess SDK for ADO.NET data provider uses NGen native optimization. Creating a native image from the data provider’s managed assembly delivers significant performance improvements because the assembly can load and execute faster.
The OpenAccess SDK for ADO.NET assembly has a strong name.
