The FCL in Review

The FCL in Review

That does it for a whirlwind tour of the .NET Framework class library. The FCL is a vast resource that s far richer and more comprehensive in scope than the Windows API, MFC, or any other API or class library that Microsoft has ever devised. It s the API for managed applications. We ve barely scratched the surface in this chapter, but there s much more still to come.

Up to now, all the applications presented in this book save one SendMail have been console applications. Console applications are just one of five application types that the FCL supports. Now that you re no longer a stranger to the .NET Framework, it s time to branch out and learn how to build other types of applications. Phase 2 of your journey begins in Chapter 4, which introduces the programming model used to write GUI applications for the .NET Framework.