The Download Cache, or downloaded files cache, is a component of Microsoft's .NET Framework that is similar to the Global Assembly Cache except that it caches assemblies that have been downloaded from the Internet.Basic Instincts: Deploying Assemblies

Assemblies are downloaded from the Internet when a specific managed object is requested using the <object> tag in a web page. For example, the following HTML will cause Internet Explorer to download MyAssembly.dll to the Download Cache and will subsequently instantiate MyControl on the page that contains it.

<object id="myControlId" classid="http://MyServer/MyVirtualFolder/MyAssembly.dll#MyNamespace.MyControl">   <param name="MyProperty" value="SomeStringValue" /> </object>

Usage Like the GAC, the Download Cache can be accessed with gacutil.exe.Global Assembly Cache Tool (Gacutil.exe)

One can list the contents of the Download Cache using the command: gacutil.exe /ldl

One can delete the contents of the Download Cache using the command: gacutil.exe /cdl

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