.NET

.NET
Name	.NET
Developer	Microsoft
Released	13 February 2002
Programming language	C#, F#, Visual Basic .NET
Operating system	Windows, Linux, macOS
Genre	Software framework
License	MIT License

.NET is a free, cross-platform, open-source developer platform for building many types of applications. Originally developed by Microsoft and first released in 2002, it has evolved from a Windows-only framework into a versatile ecosystem. The platform supports multiple programming languages and is designed to handle a wide range of development tasks, from web services to desktop applications. Its core components include a runtime, a set of extensive libraries, and language compilers.

Overview

The platform was conceived in the late 1990s under the leadership of executives like Anders Hejlsberg and Scott Guthrie, with its first stable release, the .NET Framework, launching alongside Visual Studio .NET 2002. A major shift occurred with the 2016 introduction of .NET Core, a redesign emphasizing cross-platform support and open-source development, which later evolved into the unified .NET 5. The platform is governed by the .NET Foundation, an independent organization supporting its open-source ecosystem. Key historical milestones include the release of ASP.NET for web development and the integration with technologies like Entity Framework for data access.

Architecture

The architecture centers on the Common Language Runtime, which provides services like garbage collection and type safety. Code is compiled into an intermediate language called Common Intermediate Language, which the CLR's just-in-time compilation engine converts to native code. The core library set, known as the Base Class Library, provides fundamental APIs for tasks such as file I/O and string manipulation. The Common Language Specification ensures language interoperability, allowing components written in different languages to integrate seamlessly. This layered design is managed through a runtime host and supports various application models.

Implementations

Several distinct implementations have been released over the platform's history. The original .NET Framework is a Windows-only, proprietary implementation that is now in maintenance mode. The modern, cross-platform successor is the open-source .NET implementation, which consolidates previous efforts like .NET Core and Xamarin. Mono is an independent, open-source implementation historically used for mobile applications and supported by Xamarin before its acquisition by Microsoft. Universal Windows Platform apps utilize a specific implementation for the Windows 10 ecosystem. Each variant supports a common core set of specifications.

Languages

Multiple programming languages can be used, with C# being the most prominent and widely adopted, designed by Anders Hejlsberg. Visual Basic .NET is another primary language, evolving from classic Visual Basic to be fully object-oriented. F# is a functional-first language developed by Don Syme at Microsoft Research. The platform's design, via the Common Language Infrastructure, allows many other languages to target it, including IronPython, a version of Python, and PowerShell, a task automation framework. All compilers produce Common Intermediate Language code for the runtime.

Development tools

The primary integrated development environment is Microsoft Visual Studio, available in both commercial and free Visual Studio Code editions. The .NET SDK provides command-line tools, including the .NET CLI for building and running applications. NuGet is the standard package manager for managing libraries and dependencies. For web development, ASP.NET Core is supported within Visual Studio and via extensions for Visual Studio Code. Other tools include the Roslyn compiler platform, the Entity Framework Core tooling for databases, and Blazor for building interactive web UIs with C#.

Applications

The platform is used to build a vast array of applications across many industries. For enterprise web services and microservices, ASP.NET Core is a leading framework, powering sites like Stack Overflow and services from companies like GoDaddy. Desktop applications are built using Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Forms, and the cross-platform Avalonia UI. Xamarin is used for developing mobile applications for iOS and Android, as seen in apps from The World Bank. It is also foundational for cloud-native applications on Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform, and is used in gaming via the Unity engine.

Category:Microsoft development tools Category:Free software programmed in C sharp Category:Software using the MIT license