Summary

 

Chapter 1 - C# and .NET Architecture
bySimon Robinsonet al.
Wrox Press 2002

  

We've covered a lot of ground in this chapter, briefly reviewing important aspects of the .NET Framework and C#'s relationship to it. We started by discussing how all languages that target .NET are compiled into Intermediate Language before this is compiled and executed by the Common Language Runtime. We also discussed the roles of the following features of .NET in the compilation and execution process:

• Assemblies and .NET base classes

• COM components

• JIT compilation

• Application domains

• Garbage Collection

The diagram opposite provides an overview of how these features come into play during compilation and execution:

We also discussed the characteristics of the IL, particularly its strong data typing and object-orientation. We noted how these characteristics influence the languages that target .NET, including C#. We also noted how the strongly-typed nature of IL enables language interoperability, as well as CLR services such as garbage collection and security.

At the end of the chapter, we talked about how C# can be used as the basis for applications that are built upon several .NET technologies, including ASP.NET.

Now that we have this background, we will move on in the next chapter to see how to actually write code in C#.