.NET CLR

 

.NET Common Language Runtime (CLR)

.NET CLR is a runtime environment that manages and executes the code written in any .NET programming language. CLR is the virtual machine component of the .NET framework. That language's compiler compiles the source code of applications developed using .NET compliant languages into CLR's intermediate language called MSIL, i.e., Microsoft intermediate language code. This code is platform-independent. It is comparable to byte code in java. Metadata is also generated during compilation and MSIL code and stored in a file known as the Manifest file. This metadata is generally about members and types required by CLR to execute MSIL code. A just-in-time compiler component of CLR converts MSIL code into native code of the machine. This code is platform-dependent. CLR manages memory, threads, exceptions, code execution, code safety, verification, and compilation.