[Mono-devel-list] Assembly versioning

[Miguel de Icaza]

> Mono's behavior does conform to the spec, but the spec also permits the 
> runtime to ignore version numbers. I do not know exactly what .NET does. When 
> I say "version number," I mean the entire four-component A:B:C:D field. Under 
> what circumstances does .NET require an exact match? And does it really 
> require an exact match in all four components of the version, or just major 
> and minor numbers?
> 
> My point is that Mono should be at least as permissive as .NET with regard to 
> loading assemblies. From what I see, the ECMA spec is agnostic with regard to 
> the GAC. So I really think the behavior needs to be empiracally derived to 
> follow .NET as reasonably as possible.

You might be right, but we need a lot more evidence and documentation
before we make changes of this nature.

The right solution for now is to get your 1.2.3400.0 libraries into the
GAC, that way they will be picked up by the runtime automatically.

Miguel