Why the .NET Framework?


The .NET Framework was designed with one key goal in mind: to increase the productivity of software developers. This goal is accomplished through a number of features that are built into the framework. Understanding these features will help you maximize your development efforts when using the .NET Framework.

Inherent Benefits of Building on Top of the CLR

As previously mentioned, the .NET Framework is built on the CLR, which was done intentionally to guarantee that the classes in the framework could take advantage of the benefits provided by the CLR. The CLR by itself is an impressive feat of software engineering, but its the broad set of application functionality on top of the CLR known as the .NET Framework that makes it possible for developers to build fully functional applications that enjoy the benefits of the CLR.

Extensive Use of Patterns

One of the critical ways that the .NET Framework makes the development environment productive is by establishing common patterns for a particular development task that are applied across a broad set of functionality. Error handling, for example, is a task that developers must deal with regardless of the type of application programming interfaces (APIs) used. The .NET Framework simplifies this task by defining one general-purpose mechanism for handling errors so that you can learn it once and then apply the pattern across the development of your application. Examples of patterns in the framework include dealing with collections or groups of objects, interacting with system resources, and handling application events.

Broad Windows Platform Support

The .NET Framework is designed to support development across various versions of the Windows operating system, from Windows 98 up to the latest release of the operating system. This common API set across all the major Windows platforms in deployment today reduces the complexity of development when targeting multiple environments.

Class-Based Model

The APIs in the .NET Framework are encapsulated in classes. A class in the framework usually contains members such as properties and methods . Developers can create an instance of a class in the framework and use it to perform tasks that are required by the application. Developers can also extend classes to include additional behaviors or combine them to define new classes. This object-oriented approach offers a familiar model that you can quickly identify with and relate to as you explore the functionality exposed by the framework.

Layered Architecture

The classes that make up the .NET Framework are layered , meaning that at the base of the framework are simple types, which are built on and reused by more complex types. The more complex types often provide the ability to perform more significant operations. For example, the socket class provides raw access to the network. The amount of code that you might write when using the socket class to download a file from the Internet might be 50 lines. The HTTP classes in the framework build on top of the socket class and make it easier to perform the same task. For example, the example that downloads a file from the Internet could now be accomplished in 15 lines of code. More generic URI resolution classes make it possible to download the same file in one or two lines of code. This layered approach makes it possible to use the classes that are most applicable to the task your application needs to accomplish. Because one layer builds on top of the other, it also makes it possible for an application to use the higher levels to do most of the work without blocking the ability to access the lower levels for maximum control.




Network Programming for the Microsoft. NET Framework
Network Programming for the MicrosoftВ® .NET Framework (Pro-Developer)
ISBN: 073561959X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 121

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