Question

What is a Standard Assembly and why does it differ from External Assembly in .Net References?

Answer

Standard Assembly means libraries that have already been added to the system using the regasm.exe tool (or standard system libraries, and libraries provided by other installed software like Microsoft Office). This allows these solutions to be used in all projects without the need for constant manual updates. The Standard Assemblies are registered on a system level, and only the names of the libraries are required to use them.