Operating systems and runtime environments typically provide some form of isolation between applications. This isolation is necessary to ensure that code running in one application cannot adversely affect other, unrelated applications.

Application domains provide a more secure and versatile unit of processing that the common language runtime can use to provide isolation between applications. Application domains are typically created by runtime hosts, which are responsible for bootstrapping the common language runtime before an application is run.

This section explains how to use application domains to provide isolation between applications.

In This Section

Application Domains Overview

Provides an overview of application domains.

Application Domains and Assemblies

Describes the relationship between application domains and assemblies.

Application Domains and Threads

Describes the relationship between application domains and operating system threads.

Programming with Application Domains

Describes how to program with application domains.

Related Sections

Hosting the Common Language Runtime

Describes how to create and configure application domains.

Runtime Hosts

Describes how to use a runtime host.