Applications and the .NET Framework

In Figure 1.1, at the top of the .NET Framework, you see the word "Applications." This section of the diagram represents the applications that developers will write: desktop applications, ASP.NET Web-based applications, and Web Services. All of these applications will utilize the functionality provided by the lower levels of the diagram. All of these applications run on the .NET Framework, a situation that provides three fundamental benefits:

• Concepts and services remain consistent across all applications. For example, the classes that provide access to a database are the same for all types of applications. This consistency significantly reduces the learning curve when exposing your components via different means.

• The possibility for substantial reuse exists. You can use a well- constructed database access component from many different types of applications without modification (or recompiling).

• The support for multiple programming languages means that choosing any particular programming language does not tie you into language-specific libraries and functionality. This freedom of language choice is similar to the situation when using architectures such as CORBA.