Introduction

The .NET platform is the foundation upon which the next generation of software will be built. Microsoft has invested a lot of capital in its development, and is putting its considerable weight behind its adoption as a new standard. A long list of Microsoft partners have also announced support for .NET tools and components you can check http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/partners for a current list of vendors who have .NET offerings.

The .NET platform is much more than a new language, software development kit (SDK), or even an operating system. It offers powerful new services, a new processor-independent binary format, new managed languages, managed language extensions to existing languages, and the list goes on. Effectively using these new tools is not possible without a firm background of the platform that will empower your applications.

In this chapter, we take a look at the various components of the .NET platform. We introduce not only the concepts and their technology, but explain the terminology used to describe them. This will enable you to have a strong understanding of the internal workings of the .NET platform, and get the full benefit of the information in the following chapters.

Introducing the .NET Platform

The precept behind the .NET platform is that the world of computing is changing from one of PCs connected to servers through networks such as the Internet, to one where all manner of smart devices, computers, and services work together to provide a richer user experience. The .NET platform is Microsoft s answer to the...