.NET is a consistent software development framework that enables the creation of various Windows desktop and Web applications.

.NET technology is comprised of several technologies (ASP, XML, OOP, SOAP, WDSL, UDDI) and programming languages (VB, C++, C#, J#) while it also ensures the compiled code’s portability between different computers running under Windows systems. Also, the code can be reused regardless of programming language in use.

.NET Framework is a component shipped with Windows. Actually, .NET 2.0 comes with Windows Server 2003 and can be installed on previous versions, including Windows 98; .NET 3.0 is installed on Windows Vista and can be also installed on Windows XP versions with SP2 and Windows Server 2003 with SP1.

In order to develop applications using the .NET platform it is recommended to have three essential components:

• a set of programming languages (C#, Visual Basic .NET, J#, Managed C++, Smalltalk, Perl, Fortran, Cobol, Lisp, Pascal etc.)

• a set of development environments (Visual Studio .NET, Visio)

• a library of classes for creating Web services, Web applications and Windows desktop applications.

While developing .Net applications you can use:

• Specialized servers – a set of Enterprise .NET servers (SQL Server 2000 family, Exchange 2000 etc.) which provide database storage functions, email, B2B applications (Business to Business – e-commerce between business partners).

• Web services – useful in applications that require user identification (eg. .NET Passport – an authentication that uses a single name and password for all visited websites)

• Included services for non-PC devices (Pocket PC Phone Edition, Smartphone, Tablet PC, Smart Display, Xbox, set-top boxes etc.)

The .NET Framework is an important part of the .NET technology, being the ultimate interface between .NET application and the operating systems, and currently containing:

• C#, VB.NET, C++ and J# languages. In order to be properly integrated within the .NET platform, these OOP languages meet a set of specifications called Common Type System (CTS). Their basic elements are comprised of: classes, interfaces, delegation, value and reference types, and as mechanisms they use: inheritance, polymorphism and exception handling.

• The common platform for program execution is called Common Language Runtime (CLR) and it’s used by all 4 languages. CTS is part of CLR.

• The set of libraries needed in order to create desktop or Web applications, called Framework Class Library (FCL).

.NET Framework component consists of compilers, libraries and other executable files useful in running .NET applications. All appropriate files are generally located in directory C:WindowsMicrosoft.NETFrameworkV2.0 … (depending on the installed version).

So if you’re asking why should you choose to use .NET, here come some arguments. Firstly, it provides us a set of tools that you can use within other programs, provides easy access to databases, allows the creation of drawings and other graphics elements.

System.Windows.Forms namespace contains tools that enable the implementation of graphical user interface elements. Using these controls, you can quickly design and develop various interactive graphical user interface elements.

.NET also provides classes that perform most of the common tasks that programmers face on a daily basis, thereby reducing application development time.