The .Net framework is a software development platform developed by Microsoft. The framework was meant to create applications, which would run on the Windows Platform. The first version of the .Net framework was released in the year 2002.

The version was called .Net framework 1.0. The .Net framework has come a long way since then, and the current version is 4.7.1.

The .Net framework can be used to create both - Form-based and Web-based applications. Web services can also be developed using the .Net framework.

The framework also supports various programming languages such as Visual Basic and C#. So developers can choose and select the language to develop the required application. In this chapter, you will learn some basics of the .Net framework.

.Net Framework Design Principle

The following design principles of the .Net framework is what makes it very relevant to create .Net based applications.

1. Interoperability - The .Net framework provides a lot of backward support. Suppose if you had an application built on an older version of the .Net framework, say 2.0. And if you tried to run the same application on a machine which had the higher version of the .Net framework, say 3.5. The application would still work. This is because with every release, Microsoft ensures that older framework versions gel well with the latest version.
2. Portability- Applications built on the .Net framework can be made to work on any Windows platform. And now in recent times, Microsoft is also envisioning to make Microsoft products work on other platforms, such as iOS and Linux.
3. Security - The .NET Framework has a good security mechanism. The inbuilt security mechanism helps in both validation and verification of applications. Every application can explicitly define their security mechanism. Each security mechanism is used to grant the user access to the code or to the running program.
4. Memory management - The Common Language runtime does all the work or memory management. The .Net framework has all the capability to see those resources, which are not used by a running program. It would then release those resources accordingly. This is done via a program called the "Garbage Collector" which runs as part of the .Net framework.

   The garbage collector runs at regular intervals and keeps on checking which system resources are not utilized, and frees them accordingly.

5. Simplified deployment - The .Net framework also have tools, which can be used to package applications built on the .Net framework. These packages can then be distributed to client machines. The packages would then automatically install the application.