The Assembly Linker

The .NET Framework SDK comes with a useful tool called the Assembly Linker (al.exe). This tool can take any number of modules and files, and link them together into a single assembly. Although the C# compiler can perform many of the same functions as the Assembly Linker, the Assembly Linker is useful in mixed-language or non-C# environments.

Unlike the traditional “object file linkers” with which many developers are familiar from their C and C++ experiences, the Assembly Linker does not actually create a single new file with each module or resource embedded inside it. Instead, it creates a new .NET module that contains an assembly manifest referencing all of the modules for the assembly. Like the C# compiler, the Assembly ...

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