The .NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering and is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform. Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2000 the first beta versions of .NET 1.0 were released.



The .NET Framework 1.0 is the first release of the .NET Framework. Released on February 13, 2002. Available for Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP. Mainstream support by Microsoft for this version ended July 10th, 2007, and extended support ends July 14th, 2009. Learn more about this with the houston .net developer.

The .NET Framework 1.1 is the first major .NET Framework upgrade. It is available on its own as a redistributable package or in a software development kit, and was published on April 3, 2003. It is also part of the second release of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (released as Visual Studio .NET 2003). This is the first version of the .NET Framework to be included as part of the Windows operating system, shipping with Windows Server 2003. Check out what the houston .net developer has to offer about this.

.NET Framework 3.0, formerly called WinFX, includes a new set of managed code APIs that are an integral part of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems. There are no major architectural changes included with this release; .NET Framework 3.0 uses the Common Language Runtime of .NET Framework 2.0. Unlike the previous major .NET releases there was no .NET Compact Framework release made as a counterpart of this version. Information about this can be expounded by houston .net developer.

Version 3.5 of the .NET Framework was officially released to manufacturing (RTM) on November 19, 2007. As with .NET Framework 3.0, version 3.5 uses the CLR of version 2.0. In addition, it installs .NET Framework 2.0 SP1, which adds some methods and properties to the BCL classes in version 2.0 which are required for version 3.5 features such as Language Integrated Query (LINQ). These changes do not affect applications written for version 2.0, however.

As with previous versions, a new .NET Compact Framework 3.5 was released in tandem with this update in order to provide support for additional features on Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded CE devices. The current version of the framework can also be installed on Windows XP and the Windows Server 2003 family of operating systems. For more information about the .NET Framework, then visit the houston .net developer for more details.