DOTNET Framwork

.NET Framework 4.0:

Microsoft announced the .NET Framework 4.0 on 29 September 2008. The Public Beta was released on 20 May 2009. Some focuses of this release are:

* Parallel Extensions to improve support for parallel computing, which target multi-core or distributed systems. To this end, they plan to include technologies like PLINQ (Parallel LINQ), a parallel implementation of the LINQ engine, and Task Parallel Library, which exposes parallel constructs via method calls.
* Visual Basic and C# languages innovations such as statement lambdas, implicit line continuations, dynamic dispatch, named parameters, and optional parameters.
* Full support for IronPython, IronRuby, and F#.
* Support for a subset of the .NET Framework and ASP.NET with the "Server Core" variant of Windows Server 2008 R2.
* Support for Code Contracts.
* Inclusion of the Oslo modelling platform, along with the M programming language.

In 28 July 2009, a second release of the .NET Framework 4.0 beta was made available with experimental software transactional memory support. Whether this functionality will be available in the final version of the framework has not been confirmed.

In conjunction with .NET Framework 4.0, Microsoft will offer a set of enhancements, codenamed Dublin, for Windows Server 2008 application server capabilities. Dublin will extend IIS to be a "standard host" for applications that use either WCF or WF

.NET Framework 3.5:

Version 3.5 of the .NET Framework was released on 19 November 2007, but it is not included with Windows Server 2008. As with .NET Framework 3.0, version 3.5 uses the CLR of version 2.0. In addition, it installs .NET Framework 2.0 SP1, (installs .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 with 3.5 SP1) and .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 (installs .NET Framework 3.0 SP2 with 3.5 SP1), which adds some methods and properties to the BCL classes in version 2.0 which are required for version 3.5 features such as Language Integrated Query (LINQ). These changes do not affect applications written for version 2.0, however.

As with previous versions, a new .NET Compact Framework 3.5 was released in tandem with this update in order to provide support for additional features on Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded CE devices.

The source code of the Base Class Library in this version has been partially released (for debugging reference only) under the Microsoft Reference Source License

.NET Framework 3.0:

.NET Framework 3.0, formerly called WinFX, was released on 21 November 2006. It includes a new set of managed code APIs that are an integral part of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems. It is also available for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 as a download. There are no major architectural changes included with this release; .NET Framework 3.0 uses the Common Language Runtime of .NET Framework 2.0. Unlike the previous major .NET releases there was no .NET Compact Framework release made as a counterpart of this version.

.NET Framework 3.0 consists of four major new components:

* Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), formerly code-named Avalon; a new user interface subsystem and API based on XML and vector graphics, which uses 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. See WPF SDK for developer articles and documentation on WPF.
* Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), formerly code-named Indigo; a service-oriented messaging system which allows programs to interoperate locally or remotely similar to web services.
* Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) allows for building of task automation and integrated transactions using workflows.
* Windows CardSpace, formerly code-named InfoCard; a software component which securely stores a person's digital identities and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction, such as logging in to a website.

.NET Framework 2.0

Released with Visual Studio 2005, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and BizTalk 2006.

* The 2.0 Redistributable Package can be downloaded for free from Microsoft, and was published on 22 January 2006.
* The 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) can be downloaded for free from Microsoft.
* It is included as part of Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
* Version 2.0 without any Service Pack is the last version with support for Windows 98 and Windows Me. Version 2.0 with Service Pack 2 is the last version with official support for Windows 2000 although there have been some unofficial workarounds published online to use a subset of the functionality from Version 3.5 in Windows 2000. Version 2.0 with Service Pack 2 requires Windows 2000 with SP4 plus KB835732 or KB891861 update, Windows XP with SP2 or later and Windows Installer 3.1 (KB893803-v2).
* It shipped with Windows Server 2003 R2 (not installed by default).

.NET Framework 1.1

This is the first major .NET Framework upgrade. It is available on its own as a redistributable package or in a software development kit, and was published on 3 April 2003. It is also part of the second release of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (released as Visual Studio .NET 2003). This is the first version of the .NET Framework to be included as part of the Windows operating system, shipping with Windows Server 2003. Mainstream support for .NET Framework 1.1 ended on 14 October 2008, and extended support ends on 8 October 2013. Since .NET 1.1 is a component of Windows Server 2003, extended support for .NET 1.1 on Server 2003 will run out with that of the OS - currently 14 July 2015.

.NET Framework 1.0:
This is the first release of the .NET Framework, released on 13 February 2002 and available for Windows 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP. Mainstream support by Microsoft for this version ended 10 July 2007, and extended support ended 14 July 2009.