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.NET Framework

.NET is a Web-based operating system that provides a programming architecture to develop Web applications and services. Web services are described using the XML (Extensible Markup Language) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) interfaces, and XML is used for transferring data between the services.

The .NET development environment includes a compiler that supports most programming languages, such as C#, VB, C++, and JavaScript. Source code is compiled to produce Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) code; an assembler-like language that is CPU independent. A JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler converts MSIL code into a format that is managed and executed by the Microsoft .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) libraries.

For more information on .NET, refer to the following Web sites:
http://www.microsoft.com/net and http://www.gotdotnet.com.

Using Managed Code and the CLR Libraries

Code that is managed and executed by the CLR is commonly referred to as Managed Code. The set of Microsoft Visual C++ language extensions that support the Microsoft .NET framework are known as Managed C++. In order to use Managed Extensions in code, the "/CLR" option must be specified in the compile line. When this option is included, the compiler generates a file that requires the .NET runtime libraries at program execution.

Note: Although the generated file may have a ".dll" extension, it is an assembly, not a dynamically linked library.

In addition to the /CLR compile option, the following programming statements must be included in the application in order to use the CLR libraries:

#using <mscorlib.dll>
- imports the base class library, mscorlib.dll, metadata into the application, which contains the fundamental
System namespace and other essential definitions.

using namespace System
- allows names defined in the System namespace to be specified without using the qualified namespace name.