Summary

This chapter created a level playing field on which to start your exploration of Managed C++. The chapter began with the big picture, examining what exactly .NET is, and it descended from there. It explored the .NET Framework generically and finally broke it down piece by piece, examining such things as assemblies, the common language runtime (CLR), the common type system (CTS), and the Common Language Specification (CLS). The chapter ended with a look at the myriad classes available to the Managed C++ developer.

The journey has begun. In the next chapter, you'll look at the basics of Managed C++. Let's continue.