Several things. At its heart it is a distributed platform upon which
networked applications can be built. The reason .Net is so nebulous is that
Microsoft has created new compilers, languages, and applications for .Net,
as well as recompiling much of their traditional server application platform
for .Net. These include the entire BackOffice suite. The .Net will be cross
platform, as Microsoft has just announced that Linux versions are already
underway.
On a rudimentary level, a .Net application is compiled to an IL language,
which is just far enough away from a native language to make it more
portable while increasing the security and stability. From the programmer's
perspective, they have a new language to program in as well as new platforms
that will support their existing languages (C, C++, VB, etc.). They will
also see ActiveX/COM/DCOM and traditional ASP disappear as SOAP and the
other elements of .Net start to take hold, though the older ways of doing
things will be around for some time. On the end user level, applications
will become more Internet centric, including the upcoming NetDocs, which is
Microsoft's own subscription based alternative to Microsoft Office.
A lot of people have passed this off as another marketing campaign, but it
is a fundamental shift in Microsoft strategy and policy. Software will
become less Windows focused, more subscription based, and more networked
dependent. I personally hope that it helps shift software companies from a
sales and features business plan to one based on service and support.
Benjamin S. Rogers
Web Developer, c4.net
Voice: (508) 240-0051
Fax: (508) 240-0057
-----Original Message-----
From: Phoeun Pha [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 1:03 PM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: What is .Net????
what is it really? to me, it's just a web thingy like .com or .cc or .org
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