WHAT IS .NET?

.NET is built from the ground up with the Internet in mind, embracing open
Internet standards such as XML and HTTP. XML is also used throughout the
framework as both a messaging instrument and for configuration files.

Overview of the .NET Framework

The .NET Framework consists of the platform and tools needed to develop and
deploy .NET applications. It includes an execution environment for .NET
programs (the Common Language Runtime, or CLR for short), prewritten services
that programs can access from this environment (the .NET Runtime classes), and
the development tools to produce such programs (VS.NET).Unlike traditional
Windows applications, .NET applications are not compiled to native machine
code but are compiled to interpreted code called Microsoft Intermediate
Language (IL). IL code is the inherent language of the CLR, which is similar to a
Java VM, acting as an operating system on the operating system, interpreting the
IL code in real time. Since IL code is interpreted, responsibilities such as memory
allocation and exception handling become property of the CLR and not the
programmer. For this reason, IL code is referred to as “managed” code, whereas
native machine code is said to be “unmanaged.” One of the compelling reasons
to develop applications in the .NET Framework is the .NET Runtime classes.
Similar to the Java Class Libraries, these classes are the building blocks for
writing .NET applications.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

In order to install the .NET Framework on your machine, Microsoft recommends

the following system configuration:

• Processor: Minimum Pentium II-450Mhz (Pentium III-650Mhz

recommended).
• Operating System: Windows 2000 (Server or Professional), Windows XP, or
Windows NT 4.0 Server.
• Memory: 96 MB (128 MB recommended) for Windows 2000 Professional,
192MB (256 MB recommended) for Windows
• 2000 server.
• Hard drive: 500MB free on the drive where the OS is installed (usually C:\)
and 2.5 Gigs free on the installation drive (where VS.NET will be installed).
A New Framework

Many people have looked at VB.NET and grumbled about the changes. There are
significant changes to the language: a new optional error handling structure,
namespaces, true inheritance, free threading, and many others.

The move to the Web revealed some problems. Scalability was an issue, but
more complex applications had other requirements, such as transactions that
spanned multiple components, multiple databases, or both. To address these
issues, Microsoft created Microsoft Transaction Services (MTS) and COM+
Component Services. MTS (in Windows NT 4) and Component Services (an
updated MTS in Windows 2000) acted as an object-hosting environment, allowing
you to gain scalability and distributed transactions with relative ease.