Common Language Runtime

TheCommon Language Runtime (CLR) is a core component ofMicrosoft's.NET initiative. It is Microsoft's implementation of theCommon Language Infrastructure (CLI) standard, which defines an execution environment for program code. In the CLR, code is expressed in a form ofbytecode called theCommon Intermediate Language (CIL, previously known as MSIL—Microsoft Intermediate Language).

Developers using the CLR write code in a language such asC# orVB.NET. Atcompile time, a .NET compiler converts such code into CIL code. Atruntime, the CLR'sjust-in-time compiler converts the CIL code into code native to the operating system. Alternatively, the CIL code can be compiled to native code in a separate step prior to runtime by using theNative Image Generator (NGEN). This speeds up all later runs of the software as the CIL-to-native compilation is no longer necessary.

Although some other implementations of theCommon Language Infrastructure run on non-Windows operating systems, Microsoft's implementation runs only on Microsoft Windows operating systems.

Services[]

The CLR allows programmers to ignore many details of the specific CPU that will execute the program. It also provides other important services, including the following:

• Memory management
• Thread management
• Exception handling
• Garbage collection
• Security

See also[]

• Dynamic Language Runtime, built on top of the CLR

References[]

• Common Language Runtime Overview (Microsoft MSDN)
• How to Common Language Runtime
• "Standard ECMA-335, Common Language Infrastructure (CLI)". Ecma Standards. ECMA International. Retrieved January 1, 2010. 

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