.Net Framework Evolution

.Net Framework Evolution

Microsoft .NET Framework is an evolving platform and each year, it gets better and better. If you look at the following image, you will see in the past 15 years how .NET has evolved.

The first release, .NET Framework 1.0, was introduced in 2002 and since then, as you can see, it has evolved. Every new version of .NET has introduced many new technologies and has improvements in existing technologies.

.NET Framework is still evolving…

When .NET Framework was first introduced, it supported limited applications. It started with managed and unmanaged applications but the managed area was mainly focused around Win Forms and ASP.NET. Today, if you look at the architecture of .NET Framework in the following image, you will see there is much more added to the framework, including support of JavaScript and other libraries.

Image courtesy: Microsoft

.NET application types

When .NET Framework was first introduced, it supported limited applications. Today, you can build almost any kind of app using .NET framework. Here are some of the application types we can build using .NET framework:

• Windows client applications (WPF, Windows Forms)
• Windows Store Apps
• Universal Windows Apps using UWP for Windows Phone, Windows 10, HoloLens, Surface, XBox other Microsoft devices
• Web applications using ASP.NET and/or HTML 5/JavaScript/CSS3
• Android Mobile apps
• Apple iOS apps
• Cross-platform responsive web applications using HTML 5/JavaScript and CSS
• Type Script to build modern object based JavaScript applications
• Enterprise applications
• WCF and Web API services
• SharePoint, Office, SQL Server and cloud enabled apps
• Azure Micro services and Azure enabled apps
• Components and libraries
• 2D and 3D games
• And many more

As you can see from the above list, the possibilities are endless.

Languages and .NET

C#, C++, VB.NET, and F# seem to be the most supported and used languages to build .NET applications, but there are close to 50 languages that are supported by the .NET framework. Some of these languages were developed by Microsoft and some were developed by other companies. The .NET Framework supported languages including Ada, APL, AsmL, BETA, Boo, C, C++, C#, Caml, CAT, COBOL, CULE, Eiffel, FORTRAN, Haskell, IL/MSIL, Java, JavaScript, Lexico, LISP, LOGO, Lua, Mercury, Mixal Assembly Language, Modula-2, Mondrian, Oberon, Memerle, Pan, Perl, Pascal, PHP, Processing, Prolog, Python, R, Ruby, RPG, Scala, Scheme, Smalltalk, SML, Synergy, Tcl/Tk, Visual Basic, and XAML.

When we talk about .NET, it’s unfair not to talk about C# and Roslyn. Roslyn is the .NET Compiler Platform that provides open-source C# and Visual Basic compilers with rich code analysis APIs.

Microsoft has just announced C# 7 with a few new features. Check out What Is The Future Of C#. Here is a good article that talks about What C# Can Do For You and that also means .NET framework.

Similar to .NET, C# is now open source and evolving. The following table shows the improvements made in each newer version of the language.

As you can see, unlike other languages, C# is a continuous work. Now that C# is open source, the community is growing strong and more features are being finalized for future versions.

Universal Windows Platform

Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a single platform to build all kind of applications for Windows 10 including Devices, IoT, Desktop, Holographic, Xbox, Console, and Surface Hub.

Image courtesy: Microsoft

.NET is the core technology to build UWP apps. And UWP is just getting started. As a part of .NET, you can use C#, VB.NET, F#, or VC++ to build UWP applications. Check out C# Corner’s Universal Windows Platform category to learn more about UWP.

.NET Core is Open Source

In 2014, Microsoft open sourced .NET and has slowly open sourced most of .NET components including compilers, languages, libraries, and tools. Most of the .NET open sourced components are available in Github now.

https://dotnet.github.io/

The new .NET is named .NET Core, which is open source, and now developers are embracing what Microsoft is doing with its .NET framework. Companies likeXamarin and many others are joining hands with Microsoft.

Conclusion

The .NET Framework, which is now open source, is an evolving platform. Not only is .NET open source, but it is managed by a well-managed body named the .NET Foundation. The .NET Foundation’s team comes from a strong open source background and has vast experience in building and managing several large, long-term, and successful projects. As the industry’s need grows or changes, .NET framework will continue to evolve based on the needs.