ALFARIS - TheTech-Savvy

What is .NET?

• A set of .NET languages that can be said to function in a common environment.
These languages all execute in a common runtime and all make use of a common library of components. Visual Studio .NET includes a group of Microsoft-built languages that conform to the .NET standard.

• Full interoperability with existing code
Existing COM binaries can be mixed together with newer .NET binaries and vice versa. Besides, Platform Invocation Services allows you to call C-based libraries from .NET code.

• A truly simplified deployment model
Using .NET, there is no need to register a binary unit into the system registry. Moreover, .NET allows multiple versions of the same .dll to exist in harmony on a single machine.


• A distributed application service
More and more services will be accessible from the Internet as network bandwidth increases and waiting times decrease, so it is possible to provide real-time services through the Internet.
The .NET platform makes use of XML and SOAP in order to describe and manipulate data.


The .NET Platform
Architecture of the .NET platform is made up of:-
• .NET Framework
• Common Language Specifications (CLS)
• Common Language Runtime (CLR)
• Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL)
• Base Class Library (BCL).



- The CLS—Common Language Specifications (We are now all speaking the same language)
In an object-oriented environment, everything is an object. Once you have created an object, your object needs to communicate with many other objects. These other objects may have been created in another .NET language, but that doesn’t matter, because each language sticks to the rules of the Common Language Specifications. The CLS defines such things as common variable types, common method specifications, and so on.

- The CLR—Common Language Runtime
All .NET-compliant languages run in a common, managed runtime execution environment.
Advantages of having a common runtime environment:-


• Simplified development and integrated development with other languages
Because of the CLR, you can rely on code that is accessed from different languages. One coder can write one module in C++, and another can access and use it from C#.


• Automatic Garbage Collection
The CLR has a service called the Garbage Collector (GC), which automatically manages memory for you.
• The GC automatically deletes objects from memory that your program will no longer access.
• The GC relieves the programmer of traditional tasks such as deallocating memory.

• Replacement of DLLs with versioned assemblies
The CLR uses the version information that comes packaged in an assembly to make sure that the application will load the correct component. This was a nightmare for DLL programmers, even though COM (Component Object Model) was supposed to correct most of the problems.


- Microsoft Intermediate Language
Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) or, as it is known, Intermediate Language (IL). In its simplest terms, IL is an assembly-type language.
Let’s look at the steps you follow to create, compile, and run a C# program. By exploring this, you will be able to see where the MSIL fits in and how it works with the .NET Framework.



- The BCL—Base Class Library
The Base Class Library (BCL) is a large class library used by the .NET Framework and available for you to use in your programs as well. The BCL is a runtime library that describes many classes that can be used in any software project. Essentially, this means that you have at your fingertips an arsenal of prebuilt blueprints to assist you in your programming effort. Let’s say that you have to create an application that provides network communication between two computers. Your first step would be to create a socket, which is a combination of the IP address and a port number. So you would set about creating a class file that describes this process. In anticipation of this, Microsoft has created a Socket class within the Base Class Library. You simply create an object of that class and call the methods you need.

Some of the built-in classes:
• General base classes: Classes that provide you with an extremely powerful set of tools for a wide range of programming tasks, such as string manipulation, security, and encryption.
• Collection classes: Classes that implement lists, dictionaries, hash tables, and bit arrays
• Threading and synchronization classes: Classes for building multithreaded programs
• XML classes: Classes for creating, reading, and manipulating XML documents