Microsoft .NET Framework Download Latest For Windows

.NET Framework is a Best Technology For Building and Running Applications on Windows, Founded By Microsoft Corporation.

.NET Framework is part of the .NET platform, a collection of technologies for building apps for Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and more.

What is .NET Framework used for?

.NET Framework is used to create and run software applications.

Who uses .NET Framework?

Software developers and the users of their applications both use .NET Framework:
⚫Users of applications built with the .NET Framework need to have .NET Framework installed. In most cases, .NET Framework is already installed with Windows.
⚫Software developers use .NET Framework to build many different types of applications—websites, services, desktop apps, and more with Visual Studio.

Why do I need .NET Framework?

You need .NET Framework installed to run applications on Windows that were created using .NET Framework.

What are the main components/features of .NET Framework?

The two major components of .NET Framework are the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the .NET Framework Class Library. The CLR is the execution engine that handles running applications. The Class Library provides a set of APIs and types for common functionality.

More About .NET Framework

.NET Framework is a technology that supports building and running Windows apps and web services. .NET Framework is designed to fulfill the following objectives:

⚫Provide a consistent, object-oriented programming environment whether object code is stored and executed locally, executed locally but web-distributed, or executed remotely.

⚫Provide a code-execution environment that:
>Minimizes software deployment and versioning conflicts.
>Promotes safe execution of code, including code created by an unknown or semi-trusted third party.
>Eliminates the performance problems of scripted or interpreted environments.

⚫Make the developer experience consistent across widely varying types of apps, such as Windows-based apps and Web-based apps.

⚫Build all communication on industry standards to ensure that code based on .NET Framework integrates with any other code.

.NET Framework is a managed execution environment for Windows that provides a variety of services to its running apps. It consists of two major components: the common language runtime (CLR), which is the execution engine that handles running apps, and the .NET Framework Class Library, which provides a library of tested, reusable code that developers can call from their own apps. The services that .NET Framework provides to running apps include the following:

⚫Memory management. In many programming languages, programmers are responsible for allocating and releasing memory and for handling object lifetimes. In .NET Framework apps, the CLR provides these services on behalf of the app.

⚫A common type system. In traditional programming languages, basic types are defined by the compiler, which complicates cross-language interoperability. In .NET Framework, basic types are defined by the .NET Framework type system and are common to all languages that target .NET Framework.

⚫An extensive class library. Instead of having to write vast amounts of code to handle common low-level programming operations, programmers use a readily accessible library of types and their members from the .NET Framework Class Library.

⚫Development frameworks and technologies. .NET Framework includes libraries for specific areas of app development, such as ASP.NET for web apps, ADO.NET for data access, Windows Communication Foundation for service-oriented apps, and Windows Presentation Foundation for Windows desktop apps.

⚫Language interoperability. Language compilers that target .NET Framework emit an intermediate code named Common Intermediate Language (CIL), which, in turn, is compiled at run time by the common language runtime. With this feature, routines written in one language are accessible to other languages, and programmers focus on creating apps in their preferred languages.

⚫Version compatibility. With rare exceptions, apps that are developed by using a particular version of .NET Framework run without modification on a later version.

⚫Side-by-side execution. .NET Framework helps resolve version conflicts by allowing multiple versions of the common language runtime to exist on the same computer. This means that multiple versions of apps can coexist and that an app can run on the version of .NET Framework with which it was built. Side-by-side execution applies to the .NET Framework version groups 1.0/1.1, 2.0/3.0/3.5, and 4/4.5.x/4.6.x/4.7.x/4.8.

⚫Multitargeting. By targeting .NET Standard, developers create class libraries that work on multiple .NET Framework platforms supported by that version of the standard. For example, libraries that target .NET Standard 2.0 can be used by apps that target .NET Framework 4.6.1, .NET Core 2.0, and UWP 10.0.16299.

The following sections describe the main features of .NET Framework in greater detail.

Common language runtime

The common language runtime manages memory, thread execution, code execution, code safety verification, compilation, and other system services. These features are intrinsic to the managed code that runs on the common language runtime.

Regarding security, managed components are awarded varying degrees of trust, depending on a number of factors that include their origin (such as the Internet, enterprise network, or local computer). This means that a managed component might or might not be able to perform file-access operations, registry-access operations, or other sensitive functions, even if it's used in the same active app.

The runtime also enforces code robustness by implementing a strict type-and-code-verification infrastructure called the common type system (CTS). The CTS ensures that all managed code is self-describing. The various Microsoft and third-party language compilers generate managed code that conforms to the CTS. This means that managed code can consume other managed types and instances, while strictly enforcing type fidelity and type safety.

In addition, the managed environment of the runtime eliminates many common software issues. For example, the runtime automatically handles object layout and manages references to objects, releasing them when they are no longer being used. This automatic memory management resolves the two most common app errors, memory leaks and invalid memory references.

The runtime also accelerates developer productivity. For example, programmers write apps in their development language of choice yet take full advantage of the runtime, the class library, and components written in other languages by other developers. Any compiler vendor who chooses to target the runtime can do so. Language compilers that target the .NET Framework make the features of the .NET Framework available to existing code written in that language, greatly easing the migration process for existing apps.

While the runtime is designed for the software of the future, it also supports software of today and yesterday. Interoperability between managed and unmanaged code enables developers to continue to use necessary COM components and DLLs.

The runtime is designed to enhance performance. Although the common language runtime provides many standard runtime services, managed code is never interpreted. A feature called just-in-time (JIT) compiling enables all managed code to run in the native machine language of the system on which it's executing. Meanwhile, the memory manager removes the possibilities of fragmented memory and increases memory locality-of-reference to further increase performance.

Finally, the runtime can be hosted by high-performance, server-side apps, such as Microsoft SQL Server and Internet Information Services (IIS). This infrastructure enables you to use managed code to write your business logic, while still enjoying the superior performance of the industry's best enterprise servers that support runtime hosting.

.NET Framework class library

The .NET Framework class library is a collection of reusable types that tightly integrate with the common language runtime. The class library is object oriented, providing types from which your own managed code derives functionality. This not only makes the .NET Framework types easy to use but also reduces the time associated with learning new features of the .NET Framework. In addition, third-party components integrate seamlessly with classes in the .NET Framework.

For example, the .NET Framework collection classes implement a set of interfaces for developing your own collection classes. Your collection classes blend seamlessly with the classes in the .NET Framework.

As you would expect from an object-oriented class library, the .NET Framework types enable you to accomplish a range of common programming tasks, including string management, data collection, database connectivity, and file access. In addition to these common tasks, the class library includes types that support a variety of specialized development scenarios. You can use .NET Framework to develop the following types of apps and services:
●Console apps.
●Windows GUI apps (Windows Forms).
●Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) apps.
●ASP.NET apps.
●Windows services.
●Service-oriented apps using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).
●Workflow-enabled apps using Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).

The Windows Forms classes are a comprehensive set of reusable types that vastly simplify Windows GUI development. If you write an ASP.NET Web Form app, you can use the Web Forms classes.