Each computer where the common language runtime is installed has a machine-wide code cache called the global assembly cache. The global assembly cache stores assemblies specifically designated to be shared by several applications on the computer.

You should share assemblies by installing them into the global assembly cache only when you need to. As a general guideline, keep assembly dependencies private, and locate assemblies in the application directory unless sharing an assembly is explicitly required. In addition, it is not necessary to install assemblies into the global assembly cache to make them accessible to COM interop or unmanaged code.

There are several ways to deploy an assembly into the global assembly cache:

• Use an installer DESIGNED to WORK with the global assembly cache. This is the preferred option for installing assemblies into the global assembly cache.
• Use a developer TOOL called the Global Assembly Cache tool (Gacutil.exe), provided by the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK).
• Use Windows Explorer to drag assemblies into the cache.
• Assemblies deployed in the global assembly cache must have a strong name. When an assembly is ADDED to the global assembly cache, integrity checks are performed on all files that make up the assembly. The cache PERFORMS these integrity checks to ensure that an assembly has not been tampered with, for example, when a file has changed but the manifest does not reflect the change.

Each computer where the common language runtime is installed has a machine-wide code cache called the global assembly cache. The global assembly cache stores assemblies specifically designated to be shared by several applications on the computer.

You should share assemblies by installing them into the global assembly cache only when you need to. As a general guideline, keep assembly dependencies private, and locate assemblies in the application directory unless sharing an assembly is explicitly required. In addition, it is not necessary to install assemblies into the global assembly cache to make them accessible to COM interop or unmanaged code.

There are several ways to deploy an assembly into the global assembly cache: