 | The .NET Framework, which is pronounced “dot net,” is a proprietary piece of software made by Microsoft that primarily runs on Microsoft Windows. Until the cross-platform.NET project came along, it was the most common way to use the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI). |
It comes with a large class library called Framework Class Library (FCL) and makes it possible for different programming languages to work together (each language can use code written in other languages). Programs written for the.NET Framework run in a software environment called the Common Language Runtime. This is different from a hardware environment (CLR).
CLR Virtual Machine
The CLR is a virtual application machine that helps with security, memory management, and handling errors. “Managed code” is the computer code written with .NET Framework. The.NET Framework is made up of both FCL and CLR.
FCL handles the user interface, data access, database connectivity, encryption, web application development, numeric algorithms, and network communications. Programmers make software by combining their source code with .NET Framework and other libraries. The framework is meant to be used by most of the new Windows applications that are made. Microsoft also makes Visual Studio, an integrated development environment for making.NET software.
The.NET Framework started out as a private piece of software, but the company started to standardize its software stack very quickly, even before it was released to the public. Even though efforts were made to standardize, developers, especially those in the free and open-source software communities, were unhappy with the terms chosen and the likelihood of a free and open-source implementation, especially regarding software patents. Since then, Microsoft has modified.NET development to more closely resemble a contemporary example of a community-developed software project. For instance, the company revised its patent to indicate that it will fix the issues.
In April 2019, Microsoft put out.NET Framework 4.8, which was the last version of the framework that was only available from Microsoft. Since then, only security and reliability bug fixes have been made to that version every month. No more changes are planned for that version.