The Microsoft.NET Framework is a software development environment that offers developers access to an expansive library of tested, reusable code to speed application creation time. This framework can be used for desktop applications for the Windows OS as well as creating Web services or cloud computing solutions like Azure from Microsoft Azure. However, unlike older versions of Windows OS releases which included preinstalled versions of the.NET Framework automatically, newer releases do not and must be downloaded and installed manually when prompted; there are various methods for repairing and reinstalling it as necessary, including using System File Checker or even reinstalling Microsoft Visual Studio.
Microsoft.NET Framework was created to make computer program development simpler for programmers, with its class library and execution engine managing runtime requirements of computer programs. The Common Language Runtime (CLR), an environment for running CLR code directly on machine code machines and providing memory management among other essential functions to protect applications and computers against potential security threats.
Programming languages like C#, VB or F# compile programs into Intermediate Language (CIL) for execution by the Common Language Runtime (CLR). When running under CLR control rather than that of hardware or operating systems, such code is known as Managed Code while any that doesn’t fall under its umbrella is called Unmanaged Code.
Although designed to support platform independence, Microsoft has only fully implemented the.NET Framework on one operating system so far: Windows; their implementation for other systems remains incomplete; however they have submitted CIL specifications and framework specifications to both ECMA and ISO so third parties may implement alternative versions of the platform on other operating systems.
As well as its class library and CLR,.NET Framework includes an app model that specifies how a program should be written and tools that facilitate its development and deployment. For instance, built-in code handles common tasks like data access, file I/O and user interface development while testing tools include debugging tools for debugging logging errors as well as error handling capabilities.
Although many of its features make building applications simpler for programmers, some critics of Xamarin argue that its strong connection to Windows operating systems makes it too restrictive. Although Microsoft has attempted to address this by creating separate implementations for other platforms and providing an open source version (Xamarin) hosted on GitHub, these efforts have not completely addressed critics’ worries.