Components of .Net Framework

Components and their Description

(1) Common Language Runtime or CLR It performs memory management, exception handling, debugging, security checking, thread execution, code execution, code safety, verification and compilation.Those codes which are directly managed by the CLR are called the managed code. When the managed code is compiled, the compiler converts the source code into a CPU independent intermediate language (IL) code. A Just in time compiler (JIT) compiles the IL code into native code, which is CPU specific.

(2) .Net Framework Class Library It contains a huge library of reusable types . classes, interfaces, structures and enumerated values, which are collectively called types.

(3) Common Language Specification It contains the specifications for the .Net supported languages and implementation of language integration.

(4) Common Type System It provides guidelines for declaring, using and managing types at runtime, and cross-language communication.

Metadata and Assemblies Metadata is the binary information describing the program, which is either stored in a portable executable file (PE) or in the memory. Assembly is a logical unit consisting of the assembly manifest, type metadata, IL code and set of resources like image files etc.

(5) Windows Forms This contains the graphical representation of any window displayed in the application.

(6) ASP.Net and ASP.Net AJAX ASP.Net is the web development model and AJAX is an extension of ASP.Net for developing and implementing AJAX functionality. ASP.Net AJAX contains the components that allow the developer to update data on a website without a complete reload of the page.

(7) ADO.Net It is the technology used for working with data and databases. It provides accesses to data sources like SQL server, OLE DB, XML etc. The ADO .Net allows connection to data sources for retrieving, manipulating and updating data.

(8) Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) It helps in building workflow based applications in Windows. It contains activities, workflow runtime, workflow designer and a rules engine.

(9)Windows Presentation Foundation It provides a separation between the user interface and the business logic. It helps in developing visually stunning interfaces using documents, media, two and three dimensional graphics, animations and more.

(10) Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) It is the technology used for building and running connected systems.

(11) Windows CardSpace It provides safety of accessing resources and sharing personal information on the internet.

(12) LINQ It imparts data querying capabilities to .Net languages using a syntax which is similar to the tradition query language SQL.