NET Framework

.NET Framework
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This article is about the Microsoft technology. For the top-level domain, see .net. For other uses, see .NET.
.NET Framework
.Net Framework Logo
Developer(s) Microsoft
Initial release 13 February 2002; 9 years ago
Stable release 4.0 (4.0.30319.1) / 12 April 2010; 20 months ago
Preview release 4.5 / 13 September 2011; 3 months ago
Operating system Windows 98 or later, Windows NT 4.0 or later
Type Software framework
License MS-EULA, BCL under Microsoft Reference Source License[1]
Website msdn.microsoft.com/netframework

The .NET Framework (pronounced dot net) is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability (each language can use code written in other languages). Programs written for the .NET Framework execute in a software environment (as contrasted to hardware environment), known as the Common Language Runtime (CLR), an application virtual machine that provides important services such as security, memory management, and exception handling. The class library and the CLR together constitute the .NET Framework.