Microsoft .Net Framework
Microsoft Dot Net Framework
On this wiki you will often see a warning for software that "Requires Microsoft .NET Framework." Knowing what Microsoft .NET Framework was supposed to be, as in, what Microsoft originally promised, as opposed to what it actually became is fundamental in understanding why we offer the warning.
Microsoft .NET Framework was supposed to be a cross-platform unified development solution for programmers to create software that can run on a variety of operating systems and can be created by using a unified set of widgets, tools, and techniques to make the world a better place for developers and end users alike. Microsoft .NET Framework, as promised by Microsoft, would take on Sun Microsystems' JAVA platform in the marketplace and dominate by doing more and being better.
The reality is that Microsoft .NET Framework is bloated, not backwards compatible, doesn't run on other platforms, and creates massive problems and headaches for end users. Microsoft .NET Framework runs primarily on Microsoft Windows and does offer language interoperability across several programming languages.
Microsoft recognized the power of Sun Microsystems Java too late in the game. If a developer creates software in Java, it can be made entirely cross platform. This means that the same program can run on, for example, Microsoft Windows XP and Redhat Linux XFree86. If a developer creates a handy program in Java and cross platform, a Macintosh user can enjoy using the same software that a Microsoft Window user has. Microsoft announced that Microsoft .NET would be the challenger to Java. All Visual BASIC and Microsoft C++ coders would have to migrate to the .NET Platform and learn to program in the Microsoft Object Oriented model.
Warning: Requires .NET Framework
Criticism of Microsoft .NET Framework from the developer's perspective differs form that of the end user. To the end user, it is an annoying thing that the end user ends up discovering he or she needs to have installed in order to get some program just downloaded to work. Then, the next time some software is installed requiring Microsoft .NET Framework, it needs yet a different version and that has to be installed. Eventually the end user has a sluggish running computer loaded up with multiple versions of .NET Framework in Windows, because each new release is NOT backwards compatible, and there are often internal conflicts caused by the existence of multiple versions of .NET Framework on the same machine.
It is for this reason it is recommended that end users avoid installing software which requires Microsoft .NET Framework. If there is a program that a user wishes to install, yet discovers it requires .NET Framework, the user will often find on deeper exploration, an alternative piece of software to accomplish the same task that doesn't require .NET Framework.
Better quality software never requires Microsoft .NET Framework
Better quality software never requires Microsoft .NET Framework because the purpose of the Microsoft .NET developmental platform is to make writing software more easy. The easier it is to computer program, the more people are able to computer program. Less talented and less intelligent people, once unable to grasp the complexity of lower level languages, are now able to put fingers to keyboard and develop software. However, inferior minds create inferior software. Inferior minds frequently choose Microsoft .NET, typically Visual BASIC .NET, to quickly make programs that inevitably perform poorly and ultimately require end users to cope with the burden of dealing with Microsoft .NET Framework.
