Introduction to the DotNet

The Microsoft .NET initiative is a very wide initiative and it spans multiple Microsoft Products ranging from the Windows OS to the Developer Tools to the Enterprise Servers. The definition of .NET differs from context to context, and it becomes very difficult for you to interpret the .NET strategy. This section aims at demystifying the various terminologies behind .NET from a developer’s perspective. It will also highlight the need for using this new .NET Platform in your applications and how .NET improves over its previous technologies..

The .NET Framework is a new computing platform that simplifies application development in the highly distributed environment of the Internet. 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 guarantees safe execution of code, including code created by an unknown or semi-trusted third party.
• 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.
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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 ensure 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.