What is .Net Framework & How does it work

The .Net framework is a set of readymade programming functions that a programmer can use to perform many common and vital functions. It also has a comprehensive set of elements, that the programmer can use to design the application (software) that he/she is making.

The .Net framework supports the development of both Windows applications (through WinForms), and Web Applications/Websites (through ASP.Net).

The .Net framework is really huge, and is being constantly expanded by Microsoft's programmers to bring newer, and newer functionality. Like C++ library set, the .Net framework is divided into groups (called namespaces), which hold related functions and classes. You can 'use' a namespace in your project and get access to all the classes and functions found in that namespace.

The .Net framework is not limited to one programming language. Many programming languages support the .Net framework, and can call the functions from it. The most popular languages that support the .Net framework are C# (pronounced C.Sharp. Created along with .Net framework), and VB.Net. Many non-Microsoft programming languages too have emerged for the .Net Framework.

At the moment the .Net framework supports only Microsoft Windows and its main job is to hide the complexity of Windows programming by exposing it through a easier-to-use, and more logical classes. It stands over the Windows API, and many features in .Net framework make use of the Windows API internally to give you the functionality you need. There are people who want .Net Framework for other operating systems, and Mono is one such project that aims to port .Net Framework to Linux.

For the Internet, .Net framework allows the creation of rich dynamic websites through ASP.Net. ASP.Net supports C# and VB.Net programming languages and works on Windows Server. Many popular commercial websites have been created using ASP.Net, an example is Orkut, a popular social website.

If you are running a program that makes the use of .Net, you can run it only if you have .Net framework installed on your PC. If you've bought a new computer, or use a newer version of the Windows operating system, the .Net framework will be pre-installed. If you have an older machine or OS, you might need to download and install it. Look on Google.com.

New Thoughts

TCP/IP is the communication protocol for the internet. TCP/IP defines the rule computers must follow to communicate with each other over the internet.
Browsers and servers use TCP/IP to connect to the Internet.
A browser uses TCP/IP to access a server. A server uses TCP/IP to send HTML back to a browser.