.NET Framework

.NET Framework

The .NET Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large class library called Framework Class Library and provides language interoperability across several programming languages.
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.NET Framework alternatives ➤

.NET Framework: Comprehensive Software Framework for Windows

The .NET Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large class library called Framework Class Library and provides language interoperability across several programming languages.

What is .NET Framework?

The .NET Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes the following main components:

  • Common Language Runtime (CLR) - Provides core services like memory management, thread management, security etc.
  • Framework Class Library (FCL) - A large reusable set of classes that developers can use in their .NET applications.
  • Common Language Specification (CLS) - A set of rules that language compilers must adhere to in order to ensure language interoperability.
  • Common Type System (CTS) - Provides rules specifying how different language datatypes interact with each other.

The .NET Framework aims to provide language interoperability across several programming languages. This means that developers can use multiple .NET languages like C#, VB.NET, F# etc. and still be able to integrate code written in these languages seemlessly. The framework also includes rich class libraries that help accelerate application development.

Over the years, Microsoft has released several versions of the .NET Framework which provide additional features and improvements. The latest version is .NET Framework 4.8. The framework is a key component used for building applications on Windows.

.NET Framework Features

Features

  1. Common Language Runtime (CLR) - provides memory management, exception handling, garbage collection, security
  2. Base Class Library (BCL) - provides standard libraries for strings, files, networking, etc
  3. Language Interoperability - allows code written in different .NET languages to work together
  4. Cross-Platform Support - can run on Windows, Linux, macOS via .NET Core

Pricing

  • Free
  • Open Source

Pros

Object-oriented programming model

Automatic memory management and garbage collection

Extensive code libraries and APIs

Language interoperability

Cross-platform support

Cons

Complexity can make debugging difficult

Applications may have large memory footprint

Tied to Windows for full framework (not .NET Core)

Official Links

Official Website
https://www.microsoft.com/net

The Best .NET Framework Alternatives

Top Development and Application Frameworks and other similar apps like .NET Framework

Here are some alternatives to .NET Framework:

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.NET Core
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Ceylon
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Dolphin Smalltalk
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.NET Micro Framework for Linux
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Jabaco
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.NET Core icon

.NET Core

.NET Core is an open-source, general-purpose development platform that Microsoft launched in 2016. It's a modular, high-performance implementation of .NET for creating web apps, services, libraries and console apps that run on Windows, Linux and macOS..NET Core shares a lot of functionality with the .NET Framework, which is the established...
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Ceylon

Ceylon is an open source programming language that can run on the Java Virtual Machine or in JavaScript runtimes. It was created by Red Hat and aims to improve upon Java's shortcomings in areas like verbosity, boilerplate code, and lack of modularity.Some key features of Ceylon include:Strong and static type...
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Dolphin Smalltalk

Dolphin Smalltalk is an object-oriented programming language and integrated development environment. It is designed for simplicity, productivity, and agile software development.Some key features of Dolphin Smalltalk include:Pure object-oriented language with a light and concise syntaxIntegrated IDE with code browser, debugger, profiler and other toolsFast compiler and virtual machine with automatic...
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.NET Micro Framework for Linux

The .NET Micro Framework for Linux is a small, free and open-source platform by Microsoft that allows writing .NET applications for resource-constrained devices running Linux. It includes a small version of the .NET runtime and libraries.It is designed specifically for small embedded devices with limited memory and processing capabilities. The...
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Jabaco

Jabaco is an open-source project management and bug tracking software that serves as an alternative to Atlassian's Jira. It provides similar features for agile development teams to plan, track, and release software projects.Some of the key features of Jabaco include:Kanban boards for visualizing work status and tracking progressCustom workflows to...
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