The .NET Development Platform

The .NET development platform is the first major upgrade of Microsoft’s software development platform since the Win32 API appeared with Windows NT 3.0 in July 1993. Unlike Win32, which offered more powerful APIs than Win16 but did not dramatically change tools or techniques, the .NET development platform changes fundamental tools and techniques that developers use to create applications.

These platform changes make it easier for developers to create Web applications that run on Microsoft’s Internet Information Services (IIS) Web server, and to create stable, reliable, and secure desktop applications for Windows.

The .NET development platform consists of the following components:

The .NET Framework includes the Common Language Runtime (CLR), a software component for running and loading applications, and new class libraries, hierarchically organized collections of code that developers can use in their applications to present graphical user interfaces, access databases and files, and communicate over the Web. In addition, the .NET development platform includes the .NET Compact Framework-a version of the .NET Framework specifically designed for devices that use Microsoft’s Windows CE OS, such as the Pocket PC and Smartphone platforms.