Strong Key is a naming convention used in

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...

. There can be more than one component (e.g.: DLL) with the same naming, but with different versions. This can lead to many conflicts. A Strong Key (also called SN Key or Strong Name) is used in the

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

.NET Framework The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...

to uniquely identify a component. This is done partly with

Public-key cryptography Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is the field of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a public key and a corresponding private key. Key pairs are generated with cryptographic alg ...

. Strong keys or names provide security of reference from one component to another or from a root key to a component. This is not the same as

tamper resistance Tamperproofing, conceptually, is a methodology used to hinder, deter or detect unauthorised access to a device or circumvention of a security system. Since any device or system can be foiled by a person with sufficient knowledge, equipment, and ti ...

of the file containing any given component.CodeProject: Building Security Awareness in .NET Assemblies : Part 3 - Learn to break Strong Name .NET Assemblies.
/ref> Strong names also are a countermeasure against

dll hell In computing, DLL Hell is a term for the complications that arise when one works with dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) used with Microsoft Windows operating systems, particularly legacy 16-bit editions, which all run in a single memory space. DLL Hel ...

. This key is produced by another computer program as a pair.

References

External links

CodeProject: Strong Names ExplainedMSDN: Strong-Named Assemblies
Programming constructs .NET terminology {{compu-prog-stub