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.