Assembly and PE file

Question

Hi, I am new in this .net world. Can any body plzz tell me what is the difference between Assembly and PE file. Both are same? cos in 2 or 3 sites I found that "In the Microsoft Windows implementation of .NET, an assembly is a PE (portable executable) file". Plzz help me.

kiran mahamkali · Answer

For more information about the PE file format plz follow this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable

subhajit bhadury · Answer

Thats mean when code is compiled then this assembly is generated using PE file format? is assembly made in folder "C:\PVD_CASH\bin\Debug" ? PVD_CASH is my application's folder name.

Kaushik Vatsa · Answer

Assembly is a type of PE file .Microsoft introduced the PE File format, more commonly known as the PE format, as part of the original Win32 specifications. However, PE files are derived from the earlier Common Object File Format (COFF) . When .Net come into picture , it packages the whole code into a PE format compatible file called assembly , which is the main reusable and deployable unit of .Net framework . PE file follow certain format and specifications , through which files are loaded into memory via the Windows loader . So does assembly gets loaded as it is a type of PE file .

Assembly and PE file

Answers (3)