.NET Framework version history
- Snippet from Wikipedia: .NET Framework version history
Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET Framework 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was released on 13 February 2002, bringing managed code to Windows NT 4.0, 98, 2000, ME and XP.
Since its initial release, Microsoft has issued nine subsequent upgrades to the .NET Framework, with seven coinciding with new releases of Visual Studio. Notably, versions 2.0 and 4.0 introduced significant updates to Common Language Runtime (CLR), enhancing performance, security, and language interoperability. In cases where the CLR version remains unchanged, newer framework releases typically replace previous ones through in-place updates.
The .NET Framework family also includes two versions for mobile or embedded device use. A reduced version of the framework, the .NET Compact Framework, is available on Windows CE platforms, including Windows Mobile devices such as smartphones. Additionally, the .NET Micro Framework is targeted at severely resource-constrained devices.
.NET Framework 4.8 was announced as the last major version of .NET Framework, with future work going into the rewritten and cross-platform .NET Core platform (later, simply .NET), which shipped as .NET 5 in November 2020. However, .NET Framework 4.8.1 was released in August 2022.