What Is .NET?

1.   .NET is Microsoft's platform for developing Extensible Markup
       Language (XML) Web services, which allow applications to
       communicate and share data over the Internet. There are five aspects of
       the .NET platform:
2.    .NET experiences: These are XML Web services that allow you to access
       information across the Internet and from stand-alone applications in an
       integrated way. Examples of the .NET experience are MSN, bCentral,
      Passport, and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.
3.    Clients: These are PCs, laptops, workstations, phones, handheld
       computers, tablet PCs, game consoles, and other smart devices. What
       makes these devices "smart" is their ability to access XML Web services.
       Smart clients use software that supports XML Web services and enables
      you to access your data regardless of the location, type, and number of
      clients you use.
4.     XML Web services: These offer a direct means for applications to interact
        with other applications. Applications hosted internally, as well as on
        remote systems, can communicate via the Internet by using XML and
        Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) messages. In addition to
        developers creating XML Web services, Microsoft is creating a core set of
        building block services that perform routine tasks and act as the
        foundation for developers to build on. The first set of XML Web services
        being built, known as .NET My Services, are user-centric services:
       services oriented toward people rather than devices, networks, or
       applications.
5.   Servers: The Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers, including the Microsoft
       Windows 2000 server family, make up the Microsoft .NET server
         infrastructure for deploying, managing, and orchestrating XML Web
         services.
6.      Tools: Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework
         supply a complete solution for developers to build, deploy, and run
         XML Web services. These tools maximize the performance, reliability,
         and security of XML Web services. Visual Studio .NET is the next
         generation of Microsoft's popular multilanguage development tool built
        especially for .NET. The .NET Framework is a high-productivity,
        standards-based, multilanguage application execution environment that
        handles essential plumbing chores and eases deployment. It provides an
       application execution environment that manages memory, addresses
       versioning issues, and improves the reliability, scalability, and security
       of your application.