If you are someone who frequently installs software on your computer, you may have noticed that most software wants to install the .NET Framework package along with it during installation. Although this package is generally of interest to developers, there will be users who wonder why a program with this name appears in the installed programs section. Therefore, we will explain what the name .NET Framework means and why it takes up space on your system.
What is .NET Framework?
First of all, let’s explain what a framework is. A framework is a package of application programming interfaces (APIs) and a shared library of code that programmers can call whenever they need it. In .NET Framework, the shared code library is called Framework Class Library (FCL). The codes in this library can run many kinds of functions. In this way, programmers do not have to write the necessary functions for small operations from scratch.
Compared to other framework packages, .NET also offers a runtime environment for applications. Many software development platforms, such as Java and Ruby on Rails, offer similar workspaces. When it comes to .NET, this workspace is called the Common Language Runtime (CLR). For example, when a user runs an application, the application’s codes are compiled into machine language in the workspace, and then the application is run.
There are multiple advantages to running applications within workspaces. The biggest of these is compatibility. Developers can write their codes in common programming languages such as C#, C++, F#, Visual Basic, and these codes can be run on all .NET supported hardware.
Over time, Microsoft has undertaken multiple projects to increase compatibility between .NET applications and non-Windows platforms. One of them, the free and open source Mono, is used to bring together other platforms, especially Linux, and .NET applications. The .NET Core Framework performs a similar task for lightweight and modular multi-platform applications.
Why Is .NET Installed On My Computer?
It is natural for non-software users to ask this question. As we mentioned above, .NET offers many conveniences to developers. However, in order for the applications developed by the developers with these conveniences to be run on the end-user axis, the required .NET version must be installed on the system.
Another thing users may wonder is why they have more than one .NET version installed on their system. When .NET first came to light, each new version was planned to have backward compatibility. However, it has been determined that new .NET versions have compatibility problems in Windows XP and Vista periods. For this reason, more than one .NET version could be installed on the same computer.
Fortunately, we don’t see similar issues in modern Windows versions. Two important developments in the days of Windows Vista significantly reduced the compatibility problems of the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework 3.5 was first released. This version has been edited to fully support versions 2 and 3 of .NET. In this way, an application that requested 2 or 3 versions of .NET could work with .NET 3.5 without any problems. Another important development during this period was the distribution of .NET upgrades via Windows Update.
The .NET Framework 4, which came out with Windows 8, completely removed backward compatibility, unlike its predecessors. So if you are using Windows 8 or 10, you will most likely have both versions 3.5 and 4 of .NET installed on your system. Windows now runs applications written for .NET 3.5 and earlier versions with version 3.5, and applications written for version 4 with version 4.
But you don’t have to worry about it because Windows can automatically determine which application needs which .NET version. The first time you install software on Windows that requires .NET 3.5 or 4, Windows automatically installs the required .NET version and users don’t have to mess with .NET.
