Briefly introducing .NET Framework

 .NET framework is a general-purpose software development platform. The .NET framework solved most of the problems of the traditional COM components programmers refer as DLL hell.

Microsoft defines .NET framework as "The .NET Framework is a development and execution environment that allows different programming languages and libraries to work together seamlessly to create Windows-based applications that are easier to build, manage, deploy, and integrate with other networked systems."

The main components of .NET framework :

• Several programming languages (e.g: VB, C#, J#)
•  Class libraries (pre-coded solutions)
• Common Language Runtime (CLR)
• ASP.NET Engine
• Visual Studio (a convenient IDE)

          Image Source: MSDN Website (without the handwritten comments)
The image above shows that all codes in .net framework to be executed against the system must pass by the Common Language Runtime (CLR) which means CLR is the agent that manages code. CLR also provides memory management and thread management among others. So there is a kind of unification among the programming languages you use as far as codes are executed by the same agent (CLR) no matter which language generates. Note: when we say codes are executed by CLR we don't mean source codes but source codes must be compiled first by the compiler of the language we are using. The compiled code then is in the form of Intermediate Language (IL) which is assembly language format understandable by the CLR.

See how codes are compiled into IL then executed by the notorious CLR

Image Source: ASP Free

Features of .NET framework includes:

•  Easier and quicker programming
• Simplified Development and Deployment
• Larger class library (largely reduced amount of code we write)
• Language Independency 
• Language Integration