Share via

Strong Names and Versioning for Web Parts

  • Article

All Web Parts are delivered in dynamic-link library (DLL) assemblies. You can store your DLL in one of two ways:

  • Place the DLL in the bin directory of your SharePoint site.

    In this case, the Web Part is available only to the virtual server containing this directory. You must rename the DLL between versions to avoid one DLL being overwritten by another.

  • Place the DLL in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC).

    If the Web Part is strongly named, you can place it in the GAC. This makes the part accessible to all virtual servers. However, it also means that the part runs with Full trust. Because strong names include a version number, you can install side-by-side versions of Web Parts.

SharePoint site administrators decide how to apply versioning policy to Web Parts. By default, no versioning policy is in place, which means that each Web Part assembly reference requires the exact version.

For more information about code access security and permission, see Code Access Security for Developers. You can also find more information about "Packaging and Deploying Web Parts for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services" on MSDN®.