.NET Framework

Microsoft’s .NET Framework is a new computing platform built with the Internet in mind, but without sacrificing the traditional desktop application platform. The Internet has been around for a number of years now, and Microsoft has been busy developing technologies and tools that are totally focused on it. These earlier technologies, however, were built on Windows DNA (Distributed interNet Applications Architecture), which was based on COM (Component Object Model). Microsoft’s COM was in development many years before the Internet became the force that we know today. Consequently, the COM model has been built upon and added to in order to adapt it to the changes brought about by the Internet.

With the .NET Framework, Microsoft built everything from the ground up with Internet integration as the goal. Building a platform from the ground up also allowed the .NET Framework developers to look at the problems and limitations that inhibited application development in the past and to provide the  solutions that were needed to quickly speed past these barriers.

 .NET is a collection of tools, technologies, and languages that all work together in a framework to provide the solutions that are needed to easily build and deploy truly robust enterprise applications. These .NET applications are also able to easily communicate with one another and provide information and application logic, regardless of platforms and languages.

History of .NET Framework
Microsoft started development of the .NET Framework [.NetFx] in the late 1990’s with the code name "Next Generation Windows Services [NGWS]."

First beta version of .NetFx was released in November 2000. There after, Microsoft has released many versions of .NetFx to make .NetFx more effective and also developer friendly.

Version Name	Version Number	Release Date
1.0 Beta 1	1.0.xxxx.0	Nov - 2000
1.0 Beta 2	1.0.2914.0	20-Jun-2001
1.0 RTM	1.0.3705.0	05-Jan-2002
1.0 SP1	1.0.3705.209	19-Mar-2002
1.0 SP2	1.0.3705.288	07-Aug-2002
1.0 SP3	1.0.3705.6018	31-Aug-2004
1.1 SP1	1.1.4322.2032	30-Aug-2004
1.1 SP1	1.1.4322.2300	30-Mar-2005
2.0 RTM	2.0.50727.42	07-Nov-2005
3.0 RTM	3.0.4506.30	06-Nov-2006