.NET Micro Framework 3.0 Released

The .NET Micro Framework 3.0, released in Oct. 2008, is the latest version of a bootable runtime development platform for microcontrollers used in small devices such as watches, remote controls, and auxiliary displays mounted externally on notebook computers. The .NET Micro Framework supports a subset of the base classes found in the .NET Framework, so developers with experience developing .NET applications for Windows can use their existing skills rather than learn the low-level coding interfaces traditionally required to program small devices.

The .NET Micro Framework was originally released in late 2006, and although Microsoft claims 1.5 million microcontroller-based devices use the Micro Framework, this is a fraction of the devices that have been produced. The new capabilities of the latest version could win it a larger portion of the microcontroller-based device market.

What’s New in 3.0?

The .NET Micro Framework relies on a variant of the .NET Framework’s Common Language Runtime to translate C# or VB.NET code into machine instructions for a specific processor. However, unlike other versions of the .NET Framework, which rely on an underlying OS—such as Windows or Windows CE—for key services, the .NET Micro Framework runs directly on a set of supported microprocessors. The .NET Micro Framework 3.0 runs with as little as 64 kilobytes of RAM, down from the 300 kilobytes required in the previous release, and adds support for Analog Devices Blackfin processors and the Thumb and Thumb-2 instruction sets offered on ARM processors.