Compiling to the Common Intermediate Language (CIL)

A assembly is a compiled output of your code, usually a DLL or EXE. This is the smallest deployment unit for any .NET project. The process is illustrated in Figure.
Compilation process

• The code in the assembly is not a machine code, but an intermediate language
called common intermediate language (CIL).
• The assembly, among other things, contains the following elements:
- CIL programs
- Metadata about the types used in the program
- Metadata about links to other assemblies