Microsoft’s .NET is an open-source development platform and framework that uses standard web services. The framework allows developers to access a shared pool of resources without the need for a specific operating system, computing system or browser.
Because of this flexibility, software development services working with .NET compatibility come highly recommended for companies working on cross-platform software. The framework offers the ability to target different users and operating systems simultaneously and collaboration benefits as well.
What about .NET?
The first official and public version of Microsoft’s .NET framework was released in early 2002. It brought managed code to Windows and was released alongside Visual Studio, an integrated development environment for .NET-based software.
The framework will shorten up your development time and make you more productive overall. It gives you tools from the get-go without you having to install separate files yourself. That is why .NET software has gained traction up to this point.
Lifehacker sums it up explaining how “[.NET] provides applications with an orderly way to access databases, web services, and other communication tools.” In essence, this language should eliminate the amount of coding necessary for you to get things done and finish development.
For instance, you can access the network library and call a ping function without having to code in this function from scratch. This saves up your effort and time by allowing you to use reusable code on demand.
Flexibility in Language Support
The .NET platform is also flexible in terms of support as it can run many different languages. The ones fully supported by Windows are C#, F# and Visual Basic. Each of these has its own specialization and, combined, they offer a great coding environment.
C# is a modern and object-oriented language while F# is a functional language combining imperative and functional programming. Visual Basic has a long history of development and it is a language that is still useful for learning to code because it has a simple syntax that is easy to follow. It is also useful for creating type-safe and object-oriented apps.
Class Library and Runtime Environment
Even though .NET is a framework that is compatible across operating systems, it still is a Microsoft effort that works best on the Windows ecosystem. This is due to the tools it benefits from, primarily from its large class library.
The class library is called Framework Class Library (FCL) and provides language interoperability among the three aforementioned languages it supports. Code written in .NET is executed in a software environment called the Common Language Runtime (CLR).
Both FCL and CLR make up the crux of the .NET framework. FCL provides the user interface, web app support and data access among other things while CLR manages the execution of .NET software, security and memory management. CLR is an application virtual machine. A lot of modern applications require a version of .NET to function or run on a Windows system.
How .NET Strengthens Security
Since the framework is also a runtime and not just a framework with libraries, it is convenient for security reasons. Greater security is possible for developers as a result of the way the .NET functions as a VM and because it uses managed code contained within it.
The CLR is what ends up managing the code that developers write. It also compiles it into machine code that the system can read and make sense of. This adds an abstraction layer that makes the code easier for developers to understand and work with over the bare-bones machine code or assembly language the underlying system can read.
“CLR is in charge of taking the managed code, compiling it into machine code and then executing it,” according to Microsoft. “On top of that, runtime provides several important services such as automatic memory management, security boundaries, type safety, etc.” When using the .NET runtime, you will be able to create varied software such as mobile apps, games and IoT apps. The .NET Core is a perfect way to get started in the world of software development today
