1. .NET Core

.NET Core

.NET Core is a free and open-source managed computer software framework for the Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and Linux operating systems. It consists of CoreCLR, a complete runtime implementation of CLR, the virtual machine that manages the execution of .NET programs. CoreCLR comes with an improved just-in-time compiler, called RyuJIT. .NET Core also includes CoreFX, which is a partial fork of FCL. While .NET Core shares a subset of .NET Framework APIs, it comes with its own API that is not part of .NET Framework. Further, .NET Core contains CoreRT, the .NET Native runtime optimized to be integrated into AOT compiled native binaries. A variant of the .NET Core library is used for UWP. .NET Core's command-line interface offers an execution entry point for operating systems and provides developer services like compilation and package management.

.NET Core supports four cross-platform scenarios: ASP.NET Core web apps, command-line apps, libraries, and Universal Windows Platform apps. It does not currently implement Windows Forms or WPF which render the standard GUI for desktop software on Windows.

Prerequisites for .NET Core on Windows

For developing .NET Core apps on Windows:

• Command line
• Visual Studio 2017
• Visual Studio Code

.NET Core supported Windows versions

• Windows 7 SP1
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607) or later versions
• Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (Full Server or Server Core)
• Windows Server 2012 SP1 (Full Server or Server Core)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 (Full Server or Server Core)
• Windows Server 2016 or later versions (Full Server, Server Core, or Nano Server)