What is .NET Framework ?

There are two combined definitions for the .NET Framework:

It’s a Language-neutral Component Library: this is a collection of code that we can call on and it will do certain functionality for us.  A good example of this is: if I need to connect to some TCPIP network, I don’t have to learn TCPIP and how to use it in a networking protocol.  I can use a class or a component that is already programmed into the .NET framework class library, and simply pass it some information and it’ll do it for me.  So we go a number of : Code Modules: these things are organized in such a way that we can

• find what we need and they are specialized to do everything from managing collections to managing network, connections, managing security on our code...etc
• The second part of the definition of .NET Framework is that it’s an ExecutionEnvironment:

1. CTS (common type system)
2. CLR (common language runtime): it watches everything that happens in .NET, it protect us from writing bad code, protects us from a security standpoint from people who try to hack us, and controls the environment that we are running in: what can we do safely and what we can’t do safely.  Managing our objects in the memory.

The .NET Framework can be divided into four main components:

• Common Language Runtime (it’s the brain of the .NET framework)
• .NET Framework Class Library: this is all the code functionality that Microsoft preprogrammed for you.
• ADO.NET (the data access portion of .NET: DATA/XML)
• ASP.NET (the web portion of the .NET Framework)

        .Net framework architecture diagram: