Introduction

Microsoft first launched the Microsoft .NET Framework in June 2000, with the code name Next Generation Windows Services. Amidst a barrage of marketing zeal, Microsoft seemed to add the .NET moniker to every product in its portfolio: Windows .NET Server (later renamed Windows Server 2003), Visual Studio.NET, and even MapPoint .NET.

The .NET Framework provided application developers with a host of underlying features and technologies on which to base their applications. These worked well then (20+ years ago), but newer features later emerged based on advances in the underlying technologies. For example, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and XML-based web services have given way to REST (Representation State Transfer) and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation).

Microsoft made considerable improvements to the .NET Framework with each release and added new features based on customer feedback. The .NET started as closed-source, but Microsoft transitioned .NET to open source, aka...