CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netvisual-studio-2012
user1063287
user1063287

Reputation: 10869

Where does the .NET framework come from? Visual Studio or Windows?

I am learning C# and have installed Visual Studio 2012 on a PC running Windows 7.

I can now browse to the C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET directory.

My first question is:

Does Visual Studio ship with the .NET directory, or does Visual Studio just access the directory that already exists on a computer running Windows 7?

My second related question is:

The highest numbered folder at the location C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\ is v4.0.30319. This confuses me because the version number associated with Visual Studio 2012 in the table at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework#History is 4.5.50709.17929.

So why do I not have a folder with that higher version number if I installed Visual Studio a couple of weeks ago?

Upvotes: 7

Views: 4122

Answers (4)

Vivek Jain
Vivek Jain

Reputation: 3889

Visual Studio ships with the .NET directory and it also accesses the directory if that already exists. One can install .Net 4.5 separately too

The highest numbered folder v4.0.30319 is the version of the CLR and not the .Net Libraries. .Net v4.5 replaces v4.0 similar to the way v3.0, v3.5 and v3.5SP1 replace v2.0 still the CLR version remains v2.0.xxxxx. This is the reason why you don't have a folder with higher version number.

Upvotes: 2

huMpty duMpty
huMpty duMpty

Reputation: 14460

It comes with windows os. If you go to Turn Windows features on or off you will see the Microsoft .NET framework

Upvotes: 0

Simon
Simon

Reputation: 2830

Visual studio is just an IDE that requires the .NET framework. Lots of applications require the .NET framework so there's a chance that you could have had .NET installed before installing VS. Installing VS, however, will ensure you have the correct .NET runtime for your version.

.NET 4.5 is an in place replacement to the .NET 4.0 framework so the folder will still be called v4.0.... I guess this is a way to avoid problems with systems built on .NET 4.0

There is a good article here about .NET 4.0 and .NET 4.5

Upvotes: 2

Simon Whitehead
Simon Whitehead

Reputation: 65079

Windows 7 comes with .NET 3.5 SP1. Visual Studio does not ship with .NET.. however, .NET ships with Visual Studio (obviously, so you can develop on it).

The version number didn't change between 4 and 4.5 .. I cannot remember the reason why (I think it had something to do with it being an in-place upgrade.. or something). This is why the folder version numbering is the same.

EDIT:

You can look here for a better explanation of the .NET 4/4.5 versioning and what the exact revision numbers mean: https://stackoverflow.com/a/12972517/1517578

Upvotes: 5

Related Questions