- What is .NET?
- Why Is .NET Important?
- What Are the Pieces of .NET?
- Summary Q & A
- Glossary of Terms
Glossary of Terms
ADO.NETData access software; can be used from any of the .NET languages.
ASP.NETA programming environment for building Web sites.
AssemblyA piece of a .NET application that can be deployed onto computers.
CLRSee Common Language Runtime.
CLSSee Common Language Specification.
Common Language RuntimeThe plumbing that enables all the .NET languages to interoperate and function.
Common Language SpecificationA mandated set of features that a language must implement to be a .NET language.
Common Type SystemA specification that defines how .NET types work. Types are the basic units of storage, such as Integer and String.
CTSSee Common Type System.
Extensible Markup LanguageA language for describing data, principally across the Internet.
FrameworkA set of technologies that functions as a foundation for application development.
GACSee Global Assembly Cache.
Garbage CollectionThe process of cleaning up unused memory.
Garbage CollectorA .NET process that continually runs in the background to perform garbage collection.
Global Assembly CacheAn area where .NET can store assemblies that are meant to be used by many applications at a time.
JITSee Just In Time.
Just In TimeAn action taken at the last possible moment; by extension, a JIT compiler turns a programmer's code into something the computer can execute just before the computer needs it.
Managed CodeCode that runs under the management of the Common Language Runtime.
Microsoft Intermediate LanguageA language that sits between native source code and compiled executable code; this is what is processed by the JIT compiler into code that the computer understands.
MSILSee Microsoft Intermediate Language.
NamespaceA naming schema for organizing related objects into separate "buckets."
.NET Framework Class LibraryA set of precompiled code that developers can use to develop .NET applications.
Simple Object Access ProtocolA standard that specifies a way to communicate XML-based information about applications and data from one point to another.
SOAPSee Simple Object Access Protocol.
Unmanaged CodeCode that runs outside of the common language runtime; in common terminology, code that does not "target" the .NET runtime.
XMLSee Extensible Markup Language.