Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Enter Microsoft .NET
In 2002, Microsoft released the .NET Framework, which promised to address the old problems
and meet the goals for the next-generation system. The .NET Framework is a much more con-
sistent and object-oriented environment than either the MFC or COM programming
technologies. Some of its features include the following:
Multiple platforms
: The system runs on a broad range of computers, from servers and
desktop machines to PDAs and cell phones.
Industry standards
: The system uses industry standard communication protocols, such
as XML, HTTP, SOAP, and WSDL.
Security
: The system can provide a much safer execution environment, even in the pres-
ence of code obtained from suspect sources.
Components of the .NET Framework
The .NET Framework is made up of three components, as shown in Figure 1-2. The execution
environment is called the
Common Language Runtime (CLR)
. The CLR manages program exe-
cution at run time, including the following:
Memory management
Code safety verification
Code execution
Garbage co lec ion
The programming tools include everything required for coding and debugging, including
the following:
The Visual Studio integrated development environment
.NET-compliant compilers (e.g., C#, VB, JScript, and managed C++)
Debuggers
Server-side improvements, such as ASP.NET
The
Base Class Library (BCL)
is a large class library used by the .NET Framework and avail-
able for you to use in your programs as well.
