About .NET Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for .NET. This section provides essential information about the .NET platform, its history, core concepts, and how it's evolved.

What is .NET?

.NET is a free, cross-platform, open-source developer platform for building many different types of applications. With .NET, you can:

Build web apps and services, IoT apps, mobile backends, and more.
Use C#, F#, or Visual Basic to write code.
Run your applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

History and Evolution

.NET has a rich history, starting with the .NET Framework and evolving into the modern, cross-platform .NET Core. The unified .NET 5+ platform builds on this legacy, offering a single, consistent SDK for all .NET development.

.NET Framework

The original, Windows-only framework that laid the foundation for .NET development.

.NET Core

The cross-platform, high-performance, open-source successor, enabling development on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

.NET 5+

The current unified platform, bringing together the best of .NET Core and .NET Framework into a single, modern experience.

Core Concepts

Understanding the fundamental concepts of .NET is key to effective development. Here are some of the most important ones:

Common Language Runtime (CLR)

The execution engine of .NET, responsible for managing code execution, garbage collection, and exception handling.

Base Class Library (BCL)

A comprehensive set of reusable types and classes that provide common functionality for .NET applications.

Intermediate Language (IL)

Code is compiled into IL, which is then Just-In-Time (JIT) compiled into native machine code by the CLR.

Managed Code

Code that runs under the control of the CLR, benefiting from its services like memory management and security.

Why Choose .NET?

.NET offers a compelling set of advantages for developers:

Performance

Highly optimized for speed and efficiency, making it suitable for demanding applications.

Productivity

Rich tooling, powerful C# language features, and extensive libraries boost developer productivity.

Cross-Platform

Develop and deploy applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux with a single codebase.

Open Source & Community

An active, vibrant open-source community contributes to its rapid development and innovation.

Quick Code Snippet

Here's a simple "Hello, World!" example in C#:

                    
                        using System;

                        public class HelloWorld
                        {
                            public static void Main(string[] args)
                            {
                                Console.WriteLine("Hello, .NET World!");
                            }
                        }
                    
                

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