%windir%\Microsoft.NET\assembly\ is the new GAC, does it mean now we have to manage two GACs, one for .NET 2.0-3.5 apps and the other for .NET 4.0 apps?
The question is, why?
Yes since there are 2 distinct Global Assembly Cache (GAC), you will have to manage each of them individually.
In .NET Framework 4.0, the GAC went through a few changes. The GAC was split into two, one for each CLR.
The CLR version used for both .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 3.5 is CLR 2.0. There was no need in the previous two framework releases to split GAC. The problem of breaking older applications in Net Framework 4.0.
To avoid issues between CLR 2.0 and CLR 4.0 , the GAC is now split into private GAC’s for each runtime.The main change is that CLR v2.0 applications now cannot see CLR v4.0 assemblies in the GAC.
