The Repository Add-in for Visual Basic runs in the Visual Basic process. You can run in the same process as the Repository Add-in, or in a different process. In most cases you should run in the same process.
There is a benefit to running in the same process as the Repository Add-in. Any modification that the Repository Add-in makes to the repository is immediately visible to you; you do not need to refresh your cache to see such modifications. If you run in a different process from the Repository Add-in, however, refresh your cache to be assured that the data in your cache accurately reflects any changes that the add-in has recently made to the repository.
To run in the same process, build your add-in as a dynamic link library (DLL). To run in your own process, build your add-in as an executable program.