FAQ 2 – What is Microsoft .NET?

The .NET programming languages mainly comprises of C-Sharp, Visual Basic .NET, Visual C++ .NET, Visual J# .NET and ASP.NET. There are around 20 other different languages like COBOL.NET, which support .NET and in future you can expect more. All these languages have the .NET Framework class libraries built into them and hence the learning curve is simplified. Microsoft packaged all the essential tools, components and the documentations into Software Development Kit or shortly called as SDK. It comes with compilers and run time engines for C#, Visual Basic .NET and ASP.NET. With these tools you can test and run your .NET programs. The runtime which I discussed just now is also used by Visual Studio .NET. Visual Studio .NET provides us with a visual environment to design, develop and deploy .NET applications.