This document provides an introduction to the .NET framework, describing its major components and how they work together. The .NET framework consists of:
- The Common Language Specification (CLS) which allows applications to be written in multiple languages.
- The Framework Class Library (FCL) which provides over 7,000 classes for common tasks like file access.
- The Common Language Runtime (CLR) which acts as an execution engine, managing memory, security, and interfacing with the operating system.
- .NET tools like Visual Studio which provide an integrated development environment for building .NET applications.