Microsoft .Net
The .net framework is Microsoft’s platform for building applications that have visually
stunning user experience, seamless and secure communication, and the ability to
model a range of business processes. The .Net Framework consists of:
- Common language Runtime – Provides an abstraction layer over the operating system.
- Base Class Libraries – pre-built code for common low-level programming tasks.
- Development frameworks and technologies – reusable, customizable solutions for large
programming tasks.
By providing you with a comprehensive and consistent programming model and a common
set of APIs, the .Net Framework helps you to build applications that work the way
you want, in the programming language you prefer, across software, services and
devices.
- Secure, Multi-Language Development Platform
- Next-Generation User Experiences
- Cutting- Edge Web Application Development
- Secure, Reliable Web Services
- Mission-Critical Business Processes
- Flexible Data Access Options
The .Net Framework is an integral Windows component that supports building and running
the next generation of applications and XML Web Services. The .Net Framework is
designed to fulfill the following objectives:
- To provide a consistent object-oriented programming environment whether object code
is stored and executed locally, executed locally but Internet-distributed, or executed
remotely.
- To provide a code-execution environment that minimizes software deployment and versioning
conflicts.
- To provide a code-execution environment that eliminates the performance problems
of scripted or interpreted environments.
- To make the developer experience consistent across widely varying types of applications,
such as Windows-based applications and Web-based applications.
- To build all communication on industry standards to ensure that code based on the
.Net Framework can integrate with any other code.
The .NET Framework has two main components: the common language runtime and the
.NET Framework class library. The common language runtime is the foundation of the
.NET Framework. You can think of the runtime as an agent that manages code at execution
time, providing core services such as memory management, thread management, and
remoting, while also enforcing strict type safety and other forms of code accuracy
that promote security and robustness. In fact, the concept of code management is
a fundamental principle of the runtime. Code that targets the runtime is known as
managed code, while code that does not target the runtime is known as unmanaged
code. The class library, the other main component of the .NET Framework, is a comprehensive,
object-oriented collection of reusable types that you can use to develop applications
ranging from traditional command-line or graphical user interface (GUI) applications
to applications based on the latest innovations provided by ASP.NET, such as Web
Forms and XML Web services.
The .NET Framework can be hosted by unmanaged components that load the common language
runtime into their processes and initiate the execution of managed code, thereby
creating a software environment that can exploit both managed and unmanaged features.
The .NET Framework not only provides several runtime hosts, but also supports the
development of third-party runtime hosts.
For example, ASP.NET hosts the runtime to provide a scalable, server-side environment
for managed code. ASP.NET works directly with the runtime to enable ASP.NET applications
and XML Web services, both of which are discussed later in this topic.