.NET

.NET is a framework that contains a large set of programs to be called from the program you are building. These functions/programs can be as simple as join 2 arrays, or can be as complex as translate voice to text/recognize red object in an image.

.NET is made up of an SDK and a runtime environment

the languages that are used in the framework can all be compiled down to a common language

  • ex. C, VB, IronPython (a .NET implementation of Python)

The computers that run a .NET application need to have the corresponding .NET framework installed prior to being able to run it.

Major components

Common Language Runtime (CLR) – This allows the executions of programs written in the .NET framework using C#, VB, Visual C++

  • also used to provide services such as memory management, security, exception handling, loading and executing of the programs.

Framework Class Library (FCL) – This is integrated with the CLR of the .NET framework and allows writing programs using .NET supporting programming languages such as C#, Visual C++, VB, etc.

User and Program Interfaces – This provides tools to develop desktop and windows applications. Windows forms, web services, Console applications and web forms are some examples of the user and program interfaces.

ASP.NET vs .NET

.NET is a (software) development platform that is used to develop, run and execute the applications

  • unified environment is the key value adder of .NET

ASP.NET is a web framework that is used to build dynamic web applications

  • ASP.NET is part of the .NET framework
    • because of this, developers have access to all of the .NET classes and features
  • applications developed by ASP.NET are largely component-based and built on the top of the common language runtime (CLR) and can be written in any of the .NET languages.
  • ASP stands for Active Server Pages

.NET Framework vs .NET Core

Both are are .NET implementations for building server-side applications.

  • the biggest advantage of .NET Core is that it is cross-platform, unlike the .NET Framework which is tied to Windows.

.NET 5 is the successor to both .NET Core and .NET Framework

Example projects