The Relationship of C to .NET

The Relationship of C# to .NET

C# is a relatively new programming language and is significant in two respects:

• It is specifically designed and targeted for use with Microsoft’s .NET Framework (a feature-rich platform for the development, deployment, and execution of distributed applications).

• It is a language based on the modern object-oriented design methodology, and when designing it Microsoft learned from the experience of all the other similar languages that have been around since object-oriented principles came to prominence some 20 years ago.

One important thing to make clear is that C# is a language in its own right. Although it is designed to generate code that targets the .NET environment, it is not itself part of .NET. Some features are supported by .NET but not by C#, and you might be surprised to learn that some features of the C# language are not supported by .NET (for example, some instances of operator overloading)!

However, because the C# language is intended for use with .NET, it is important for you to have an understanding of this Framework if you want to develop applications in C# effectively. So, this chapter takes some time to peek underneath the surface of .NET. Let’s get started.