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Tips for (DOTNET) Beginners
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The.NET Framework can be described as a little virtual operating system that runs on top of one of the operating systems.
The framework is made up of two main components: the .NET Class Library and the Common Language Runtime (CLR).
A namespace is a unique hierarchical reference to a specific class or groupof similar classes.
A runtime host is an application that loads the .NET runtime into its process. ASP.NET is an example of an application that loads the runtime into its process for its Web-related services. Internet Explorer is another example of a runtime host allowing us to download and execute managed code within its processes. The last runtime host component included in the framework is shell executables. This piece is actually what calls the .NET runtime from your operating system when you want to start a .NET application. It will also transfer the control of the .NET application from your system to the runtime.
Each programming language has its own compiler. Every one of these compilers must adhere to a common set of strict rules found at the core of the CLR. These strict rules ensure that each language’s compiler will produce the same type of compiled code. Even though your compiled .NET application will have the same extension as a traditional Win32-based executable (that is, EXE or DLL), the internal results of the files are completely
different.
A .NET executable is compiled into what could be described as an “executable package” that includes Microsoft’s Intermediate Language (MSIL or IL), metadata, an assembly manifest, and any additional assemblies or files the application makes reference to. In .NET, your application’s executable is more commonly referred to as an assembly
An assembly is the compiled code that you will distribute to clients.
Intermediate Language (IL) is .NET’s version of compiled code. Whether you are compiling an ASP.NET DLL written in COBOL, or a Windows Forms EXE written in C#, the result is always this common self-describing intermediate language. IL is a simple text-based syntax that is complemented by a self-describing component called metadata. The combination of these two technologies gives .NET’s managed runtime the ability to
perform more operations in less time with less overhead.
.NET applications are Just-In-Time compiled a second time into native machine code. This is the same type of machine language code a 32-bit C++ executable would be compiled into. An assembly’s descriptive text-based syntax allows the runtime the ability to intelligently compile an application into the most efficient set of native machine instructions for a given system.
The .NET runtime also gives the developer compilation options to instruct
the runtime to dynamically Just-In-Time (JIT) compile their application to machine language, or pre-compile everything to native machine code during installation
.NET precompiles its applications into native machine language with the help of an assembly’s metadata. Metadata is XML that thoroughly describes the location and purpose of every object, property, argument, delegate, and method within a .NET application’s assembly. Metadata eliminates the overhead associated with interpreting and managing the
unknown. The runtime also uses metadata to validate the accuracy and purpose of each function to avoid errors, optimize memory management, and protect the user from malicious attacks.
Metadata is really nothing more than XML code that describes the entire contents of the assembly. When a user starts a .NET application, the runtime will access the assembly manifest, which is made up of metadata that describes the specific contents of the package. It’s like the table of contents for a .NET application. The manifest is also the runtime’s main entry point for gathering and examining the data it needs to begin compiling the assembly into native machine language. You can also access this information via a disassembler included with the framework called ILDASM.EXE. This tool presents the high-level details of an assembly in a readable and organized hierarchy that describes the specific details of every object, method, argument, and property in your application.
JIT complier compiles the contents of the assembly into machine language.
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Responses
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| Author: Ritik D Dodhiwala 04 Oct 2004 | Member Level: Bronze Points : 0 | Thanx, very much for providing so Much Information about .NET Studio in Nut Shell for .NET Novice like me.....
keep it up.....
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