THE .NET FRAMEWORK

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a runtime environment that sits between the operating system and the applications. Its main role is to provide access to all services of the underlying operating system in a managed way that enables developers to be productive. .NET adds several fundamental benefits to software development:

• Uniform runtime — Before the .NET era, each Windows application development tool used a separate runtime environment. For example, Visual Basic had the VB runtime, Delphi utilized the Visual Component Library (VCL), and Visual C++ developers could select between Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) and Active Template Library (ATL). When developers had to change a programming language, it was not enough to learn a new language; they also needed to learn a new runtime library. With .NET, developers can utilize the same runtime regardless of the specific programming language used.