Introduction to the Common Language Infrastructure

Learn about the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) at the heart of all .NET languages. Excerpt: The Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) is an International Standard that is the basis for creating execution and development environments in which languages and libraries work together seamlessly. The CLI specifies a virtual execution system that insulates CLIcompliant programs from the underlying operating system. Where virtual execution systems are developed for different operating systems, programs written with CLI-compliant languages can be run in these different systems without recompiling, or worse, rewriting.