Conclusion

This chapter began by examining the overall architecture of the .NET Framework, how it fits into the Windows set of operating systems, and the significant role it plays in offering a wide range of services, methods, interfaces, namespaces containing classes and base class libraries that support interoperability. Drilling down from Common Language Runtime tasks and its responsibilities to the JIT compilers, the System.Reflection namespace, the manifest, and assembly, provided an opportunity to learn how .NET provides support for integrated, distributed services for the enterprise. A discussion of the Common Type Specification and Common Language Specification rounded out the chapter. Subsequent chapters examine other CLR-related components such as ASP.NET.