2. Overview of the .NET Framework Class Library

This  book  is  about  exploring  the  .NET  Framework  C#  class  library.  Like

the Java API, the .NET Framework provides namespaces with classes that

can  be  used  to  code  myriad  enterprise  tasks.  The  .NET  Framework  class

library  can  help  you  implement  many  tasks, including  accessing

databases, creating  graphics, XML  processing, networking, reflection,

messaging, security, and directory services. The framework is vast, and to

discuss all the namespaces is beyond the scope of this book. Instead, you

will encounter some of the commonly used namespaces as we explore C#

fundamentals.  In  addition, we  will  look  at  some  sample  namespaces  for

implementing  some  of  the  enterprise  tasks  (database  access, graphics,

XML processing).

Table 1.2. .NET Namespaces Covered in This Book .NET Framework Namespace Description System Contains core classes System.Collections Collection classes (similar to Java collections) System.Data,System.Data.Common, System.Data.OleDb,System.Data.SqlClient, System.Data.SqlTypes Classes for accessing databases System.IO, System.IO.IsolatedStorage Classes for disk I/O System.Reflection, System.Reflection.Emit Classes for reflection System.Text String processing classes