Assembly metadata is stored in Manifest. Manifest contains all the metadata needed to do the following things:
- Version of assembly.
- Security identity.
- Scope of the assembly.
- Resolve references to resources and classes.
The assembly manifest can be stored in a PE file either (an .exe or) .dll with Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL code with Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) code or in a stand-alone PE file, that contains only assembly manifest information.