What does the assembly keyword mean in the AssemblyInfo.cs. Does it permit to use method inside?

Question

Saw some code snippet inside AssemblyInfo.cs like

[assembly: someattributename]

What does this code mean?

I even saw some method to be used inside assembly, like

[assembly: log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator(Watch=true)]

Is this the attribute anymore?

Answer 1

Attributes are always applied to an element (e.g. a method, property). The "assembly:" prefix means that the attribute (the part you omitted using '*') is applied to the assembly.

Applying Attributes at the Assembly Level If you want to apply an attribute at the assembly level, use the Assembly keyword. The following code shows the AssemblyNameAttribute applied at the assembly level.

using System.Reflection;
[assembly:AssemblyTitle("My Assembly")]

When this attribute is applied, the string "MyAssembly" is placed in the assembly manifest in the metadata portion of the file. You can view the attribute either by using the MSIL Disassembler (Ildasm.exe) or by creating a custom program to retrieve the attribute.

Answer 2

It means this an attribute on the assembly itself and not on a specific class, method, property etc.