namespaces & assemblies

namespaces & assemblies

The import statement enables access to a namespace in an external library or within the current script. The syntax is very simple: import namespaceName; where namespaceName is the name of the required namespace. There is always the question as to where the computer should search for the given namespace. A namespace is a collection of classes that typically offer related features or functions. An assembly, on the other hand, is a physical file, deployed during installation of the .NET framework, or other applications. File extensions .dll or .exe are a clear indication of assemblies. Usually, your namespaces will be implemented in .dll files. What's the relationship between the .dll file name and the namespace name? Generally speaking, none. A single namespace can be distributed among several .dll files. Also, a single .dll file can include multiple namespaces. In practice, though, the name of the .dll is usually the name of the namespace, and the jsc.exe compiler does support this practice with the /autoref compilation switch. Mitesh Mehta