Chapter 1: What is .

NET
Framework
The .Net framework is a software development platform developed by
Microsoft. The framework was meant to create applications, which
would run on the Windows Platform. The first version of the .Net
framework was released in the year 2000.

The version was called .Net framework 1.0. The .Net framework has
come a long way since then, and the current version is 4.6.1.

The .Net framework can be used to create both - Form based

andWeb based applications. Web services can also be developed
using the .Net framework.

The framework also supports various programming languages such

as Visual Basic and C#. So developers can choose and select the
language to develop the required application. In this chapter, you will
learn some basics of the .Net framework.

.Net Framework Architecture

The basic architecture of the .Net framework is as shown below.

The architecture of the .Net framework is based on the following key

components; 1. Common Language Runtime - The “Common
Language Infrastructure” or CLI is a platform on which the .Net
programs are executed.
The CLI has the following key features:

Exception Handling - Exceptions are errors which occur when the

application is executed.
Examples of exceptions are:

If an application tries to open a file on the local machine, but the file is
not present.
If the application tries to fetch some records from a database, but the
connection to the database is not valid.

Garbage Collection - Garbage collection is the process of removing

unwanted resources when they are no longer required.
Examples of garbage collection are

A File handle which is no longer required. If the application has

finished all operations on a file, then the file handle may no longer be
required. The database connection is no longer required. If the
application has finished all operations on a database, then the
database connection may no longer be required.

Working with Various programming languages –

As noted in an earlier section, a developer can develop an application
in a variety of .Net programming languages.

1. Language - The first level is the programming language itself, the

most common ones are VB.Net and C#.
2. Compiler – There is a compiler which will be separate for each
programming language. So underlying the VB.Net language, there
will be a separate VB.Net compiler. Similarly for C#, you will have
another compiler.
3. Common Language Interpreter – This is the final layer in .Net
which would be used to run a .net program developed in any
programming language. So the subsequent compiler will send the
program to the CLI layer to run the .Net application.
2. Class Library - The .NET Framework includes a set of standard
class libraries. A class library is a collection of methods and functions
that can be used for the core purpose.
For example, there is a class library with methods to handle all file
level operations. So there is a method which can be used to read the
text from a file. Similarly, there is a method to write text to a file.
Most of the methods are split into either the System.* or Microsoft.*
namespaces. (The asterisk * just means a reference to all of the
methods that fall under the System or Microsoft namespace)
A namespace is a logical separation of methods. We will learn these
namespaces more in detail in the subsequent chapters.

3. Languages - The types of applications that can be built in the .Net

framework are classified broadly into the following categories.

WinForms – This is used for developing Forms-based applications,

which would run on an end user machine. Notepad is an example of
a client-based application.
ASP.Net – This is used for developing web based applications, which
are made to run on any browser such as Internet Explorer, Chrome or
Firefox.

The Web application would be processed on a server, which would

have Internet Information Services Installed.
Internet Information Services or IIS is a Microsoft component which is
used to execute an ASP.net application.
The result of the execution is then sent to the client machines, and
the output is shown in the browser.

ADO.Net – This technology is used to develop applications to interact

with Databases such as Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server.

Different versions of the .Net

framework
Below is the table of .Net framework versions, which have been
released with their release dates. Every version has relevant changes
to the framework.

For example, in framework 3.5 and onwards a key framework called

the Entity framework was released. This framework is used to
change the approach in which the applications are developed while
working with databases.

Version number CLR version Release date

1.0 1.0 2002-02-13
1.1 1.1 2003-04-24
2.0 2.0 2005-11-07
3.0 2.0 2006-11-06
3.5 2.0 2007-11-19
4.0 4 2010-04-12
4.5 4 2012-08-15
4.5.1 4 2013-10-17
4.5.2 4 2014-05-05
4.6 4 2015-07-20
4.6.1 4 2015-11-17

The biggest advantage of the .Net framework is that it supports

Windows platform. Almost everyone works with Windows machines.
Microsoft always ensures that .Net frameworks are in compliance
with all the supported Windows operating systems.
The following design principles of the .Net framework is what makes it
very relevant to create .Net based applications.

1. Interoperability - The .Net framework provides a lot of backward

support. Suppose if you had an application built on an older version
of the .Net framework, say 2.0. And if you tried to run the same
application on a machine which had the higher version of the .Net
framework, say 3.5. The application would still work. This is because
with every release, Microsoft ensures that older framework versions
gel well with the latest version.
2. Portability- Applications built on the .Net framework can be made
to work on any Windows platform. And now in recent times, Microsoft
is also envisioning to make Microsoft products work on other
platforms, such as iOS and Linux.
3. Security - The .NET Framework has a good security mechanism.
The inbuilt security mechanism helps in both validation and
verification of applications. Every application can explicitly define their
security mechanism. Each security mechanism is used to grant the
user access to the code or to the running program.

4. Memory management - The Common Language runtime does all

the work or memory management. The .Net framework has all the
capability to see those resources, which are not used by a running
program. It would then release those resources accordingly. This is
done via a program called the “Garbage Collector” which runs as part
of the .Net framework. The garbage collector runs at regular intervals
and keeps on checking which system resources are not utilized, and
frees them accordingly.

5. Simplified deployment - The .Net framework also have tools,

which can be used to package applications built on the .Net
framework. These packages can then be distributed to client
machines. The packages would then automatically install the
application.

Summary

.Net is a programming language developed by Microsoft. It was

designed to build applications which could run on the Windows
platform. The .Net programming language can be used to develop
Forms based applications, Web based applications and Web
services.
Developers can choose from a variety of programming languages
available on the .Net platform. The most common one’s are VB.Net
and C#.