Single-File and Multifile .Net Assemblies

In a great number of cases, there is a simple one-to-one correspondence between a .NET assembly and the binary file (*.dll or *.exe). Thus, if you are building a .NET *.dll, it is safe to consider that the binary and the assembly are one and the same. Likewise, if you are building an executable desktop application, the *.exe can simply be referred to as the assembly itself. However, this is not completely accurate. Technically speaking, if an assembly is composed of a single *.dll or *.exe module, you have a single-file assembly.