What Is .NET?

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The first thing to understand is that .NET is not a single technology or even a group of technologies. Based upon specific standards, it is essentially a brand name for Microsoft's business strategy. By giving it a single name and trumpeting it from the rooftops, Microsoft has done a good job of grabbing mindshare in the Web services arena, according to Giga Information Group (Cambridge, MA). This is not to say, however, that .NET is no more than a marketing gimmick. Behind the name is a wide-ranging view of the role the Internet plays in the future of computing, as well as concrete actions to bring that vision to fruition. The strategy recognizes the rise in the Internet as a platform of operations, along with the decline of the PC as the sole or primary computing device. It defines how Microsoft is adapting to and promoting that change.

According to Microsoft, the .NET integration strategy consists of four main elements:

• .NET Framework. The .NET Framework is the element that builds in Web services standards throughout the Microsoft product line, from VisualStudio.NET developer tools to Windows Server 2003 and the Windows XP desktop operating system. The .NET Framework basically allows for greater interoperability with the products developed at Redmond as well as those applications created by other companies.

• .NET Enterprise Servers. Microsoft has released the first of the .NET Enterprise Server line — Windows Server 2003. The company is incorporating Web services standards into all of its enterprise servers starting with Windows Server 2003. Following on its heals will be .NET-enabled versions of other Microsoft server products, such as Exchange, BizTalk, SQL Server, and Commerce Server, among many others.

• .NET Services. Both .NET Framework and .NET Enterprise Server exist in order to facilitate the third part — .NET-based Web services. The first of these services, Microsoft Passport, has already been released, with numerous others under development within the .NET services banner.

• .NET Clients. Clients for .NET include PCs, laptops, workstations, phones, handheld computers, the recently released Tablet PCs, game consoles, and other smart devices. In short, anything that can access Web services will be made compatible with the .NET platform. These clients will all incorporate software that supports XML Web services and allows users to access data regardless of the time, place, or type of client used. The long-term goal is to have all applications communicating while leveraging existing assets in a flexible way.

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