The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that can be installed on computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large library of coded solutions to common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework.

The .NET framework includes a runtime environment that manages applications' runtime requirements. The .NET Framework runtime environment, called Common Language Runtime (CLR), provides the appearance of an application virtual machine so that programmers need not consider specific CPU capabilities. The CLR also provides other services such as security, memory management, and exception handling. The class library and the CLR together constitute the .NET Framework.

The Microsoft .NET courseware listed in this category provide an overview .NET 2.0 release and an introduction to Visual Studio 2005.

If you are looking for courseware specific to a different version of .NET, please consult one of the following .NET courseware categories:

• .NET 4.0 - C#
• .NET 3.5 - C#
• .NET 3.5 - Visual Basic
• .NET 3.0