NET runtime.Whereas C# 3.0 was designed with C and C++ programmers in mind, VB 2008 is
designed to be more accessible to the large base of existing VB programmers. The new language
targets the .NET 3.5 programming model and is derived from previous versions of VB, but you??™ll
find that it??™s quite different. The language changes are due to the fact that in order to support the
framework, VB 2008 must provide more object-oriented features as well as type safety.
.NET Runtime
To understand VB development in the .NET environment, you first need to understand some
components of the .NET environment and how they interact. This section summarizes how
VB programs are compiled and run in .NET. The execution engine of .NET is known as the
common language runtime (CLR). The CLR is primarily responsible for loading and executing
code, as well as memory management, security, and handling of types.
At the top level is the VB language itself, or any language that targets the CLR, that is used
to create code. The VB compiler takes the written code and generates intermediate language
(IL). For example, a DLL or EXE contains IL that is understood by the CLR. Any code written
to run in the CLR is known as managed code, because it runs under the control of the CLR.
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