The .NET Framework is a platform developed by Microsoft for application developers.
Definition
It
is a Microsoft programming structure for creating Desktop and web
applications. The .NET Framework supports cross-language
interoperability, which means a language can use the code written in
another language. The two main components of the framework are Class
Library and Common Language Runtime (CLR). It also includes an
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) where the actual code is
written.
Class Library: as the name indicates, it is a library of pre-defined classes used by developers with their own code to create new applications.
Common language runtime (CLR): It is the software environment where the .NET framework programs are executed.
We can say that Class Library and the CLR together constitute the .NET framework.
Advantages of .NET Framework vs. Advantages of Java
Both
the technologies have their own advantages. It is the programmer who
has to decide the technology based on its features or advantages.
.NET Framework
- .NET Framework is used for windows platform-specific applications.
- .NET Framework is language-independent and helps programmers with different skills to work on the same application.
- .NET Framework ensures rapid application development which is one of the main priorities for most of the clients.
Java
- Java is independent of the platform.
- Java is available as open source.
- Java uses 3rd party tools to develop the applications.
Installing .NET Framework on other Operating systems
This
is not possible because the .NET Framework is developed by Microsoft
specifically for WINDOWS. However if you want to use the framework on
other operating systems like Linux or Unix, there is an open source
implementation of .NET Framework called MONO that provides the same
functions as the Microsoft .NET framework.