What is a software framework?

Question

so is a .NET framework the software thing which makes my windows OS execute the files the way it does? is a software framework the thing which makes my programs run?

Answer 1

A software framework is a set of programming codes that would be very commonly used so that when you build your own software, instead of everyone building everything frame scratch, you use a common framework that has all the basic common functions already built. There are a lot of different frameworks programmers can use to build their software on, so it's better to use a standard framework, then you'd be sure that most people already have it. Otherwise, you'd have to tell people to first install that framework.



.NET is Microsoft's framework for building Microsoft applications. Your OS should be self-contained, but other software you install might be built with this framework, so you need to have it installed on your computer already before that software will run.

Answer 2

A software fits within and beneath an underlying set of libraries and processes .Also, the software gets executed on the OS it is developed for. Or in other words, a virtual boundary exists when it comes to develop, run, test and deploy any software. Such a boundary is called a software framework.



More recently, .NET is named by Microsoft as "the offering" with such an underlying 'virtual' environment for software development on Microsoft windows OS.

Which means, .NET Framework is just a Microsoft "thingy" for creating new applications to run on the Windows platform.

Or from a developer or user perspective, you may have to install .NET framework in order run or use programs developed under .NET framework.

It doesn't mean that other providers such as Sun-java cannot run and execute files on Windows OS. As long as the software is compatible for OS it is designed, it will run and execute files.

Answer 3

.NET is not needed to run your OS.



A software framework created by Microsoft that is basically a bunch of APIs (Application Program Interface) that grant developers access INTO the OS.



An API is really just a bunch of generic functions that developers use to easily and quickly create programs for certain applications. .NET is the API group for Windows systems. But there are software frameworks (APIs) for all sorts of things, like the iPhone OS.



Basically, it just gets rid of all the low-level programming crap that many developers neither have the time for nor do they understand.



So, it is not required for EVERY program to run, but many programs do use the framework.

Answer 4

The software framework is a style of software more than the actual software. The actual software that run your applications are in C/C++, JAVA, C#, all of those software languages. And you can look at the frameworks as the styles of the software languages to be developed that can be coded for different applications.

Answer 5

.NET framework is just the same as JRE (Java Runtime Environment) for Java.



Any platform/OS that contained with .NET framework can run .Net application, just like Java.