Understanding NuGet packages

.NET Core is split into a set of packages. Each of these packages represents a single assembly of the same name. For example, the System.Collections package contains the System.Collections.dll assembly.

The following are the benefits of packages:

  • Packages can ship on their own schedule
  • Packages can be tested independently of other packages
  • Packages can support different OSes and CPUs
  • Packages can have dependencies specific to only one library
  • Apps are smaller because unreferenced packages aren't part of the distribution

The following table lists some of the more important packages:

Package

Important types

System.Runtime

Object, String, Array

System.Collections

List<T>, Dictionary<TKey, TValue>

System.Net.Http ...

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