.NET basics

Microsoft .NET is the basis of Automation Framework. Microsoft .NET Framework is an integrated Windows component that is used to create and manage the future generation of software and web services. .NET is strictly speaking not an operating system and thus not a successor of Windows. It is rather a layer added on top of Windows and e.g. LINUX  and mainly adds two things:

• A runtime environment which provides automatic garbage collection, safety mechanisms, versioning and most of all interoperability between different programming languages.
• An object-oriented class library with extensive functions for graphical user interfaces (Windows forms), web interfaces (web forms), database connection (ADO.NET), collection classes, threads, reflection and many more. In many cases it replaces the previous Windows API and goes way beyond it.

.NET provides:

• A standardized programming model for software development
• Tools like Visual Studio to develop integrated and user-friendly applications for a number of different end devices
• A number of server products as basis for all applications with web services
• Client software, which connects people with systems in many different ways
  

.NET technology: characteristics and benefits

The concept of .NET opens up many advantages in control technology:

• .NET is a forward-looking technology for software tools, software platforms and functional engineering.
• Software tools e.g. for parameterizing or diagnosing automation devices can be realized significantly faster than before.
• Consistent and homogenous software platforms for optimal support of the products are economically viable.
• .NET is a standard technology which provides the user with a high degree of individual design opportunities.
• The .NET platform also provides numerous development opportunities (such as web services) for the following years.
• Now, most of the operations you want to perform in Windows such as data access, window technique, Internet connection and many functions of the Win32 API are now available via a simple object model (FCL, Framework Class Library).
• Applications can be developed in different programming languages: the language Visual Basic was upgraded. Now it contains classes and provides most of the features that were formerly available in C++. The new language C# was introduced. It combines the efficiency of C++ with the simplicity of VB. The most important programming languages came closer to each other as a result of which code written in VB, C++ and C# can be mixed. Now, you can for example write a class in VB, then derive a C# class (or C++) from the VB class and switch between the languages in the debugger.
• Components are combined into new units, the so-called assemblies. An assembly is self-explanatory to a large extent as a result of which the installation and use is very simple.
• Managed module: A managed module is a compiled class. This class is managed and executed by the CLR.
• CLR (Common Language Runtime): Runtime engine by Microsoft for all .NET based applications, according to the virtual Java machine, with just-in-time compilation of the intermediate code (IL code) and memory management.
• IL (or MSIL - Microsoft Intermediate Language) is an intermediate language that is compiled by the CLR into native code. Native code is the processor-specific code (same as compiled C++ code).