.NET / C#

.NET / C# — MIT licensed cross-platform platform and language stack for web, cloud, desktop, mobile, and game development

About .NET / C#

.NET is a free, open-source, cross-platform framework for building modern applications and cloud services. C# is the primary language most developers use with .NET, and Microsoft’s official C# documentation describes it as the .NET managed language with guides, tutorials, reference material, and specifications for the language and the platform.

Together, .NET and C# are used to build:

  • web applications and APIs
  • cloud-native services and microservices
  • desktop applications
  • mobile applications
  • games and interactive experiences
  • AI, data, and automation tools

Created by: Microsoft First released: 2002 for .NET, 2000 for C# Primary language: C# License: MIT License

Why .NET / C# Is Popular

.NET and C# remain popular because they combine strong language features with a broad application platform. The ecosystem is large enough for enterprise systems, but the tooling is still approachable for smaller teams and independent developers. Microsoft positions .NET as a framework for building modern apps and powerful cloud services, and its documentation highlights support for web, mobile, desktop, cloud, AI, data, and game development.

Key strengths include:

  • Strong tooling with Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and rich documentation
  • Cross-platform support across Windows, Linux, and macOS
  • A mature language with type safety, async support, and a broad standard library
  • Flexible deployment for containers, cloud, servers, and desktop apps
  • Large ecosystem built around NuGet, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, MAUI, and related tools

Common Use Cases

Web APIs

ASP.NET Core is widely used for REST APIs, GraphQL backends, auth systems, and service layers that need performance and strong structure. Microsoft’s .NET site highlights web apps and services as a core scenario.

Cloud-Native Services

.NET fits well for containerized services, microservices, and distributed systems because it runs cross-platform and integrates cleanly with modern hosting environments. Microsoft’s .NET homepage emphasizes cross-platform cloud work and service development.

Desktop Applications

.NET is used for Windows apps, cross-platform desktop apps, and business tools that need a rich UI and access to local system features. Microsoft’s documentation points to desktop app development as a major .NET scenario.

Mobile Applications

With .NET MAUI and related tooling, teams can build mobile apps with shared code and a single language stack. The .NET homepage explicitly highlights mobile and desktop app development from a single codebase.

Game Development

C# is widely used in game development, especially in ecosystems like Unity. Microsoft’s C# documentation includes game development as a target scenario.

Technical Notes

C# is a strongly typed, object-oriented language with modern features such as async/await, LINQ, pattern matching, and rich language support for large codebases. Microsoft’s documentation organizes C# into guides, fundamentals, language concepts, and the official specification.

The .NET platform itself provides:

  • the runtime and base class libraries
  • APIs for networking, file access, security, and serialization
  • tooling for builds, testing, package management, and publishing
  • open-source repositories that are maintained in the public GitHub ecosystem.

License Information

.NET is distributed under the MIT License.

The current .NET runtime license notice is:

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The MIT License (MIT)
Copyright (c) .NET Foundation and Contributors All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to
use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies
of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do
so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

If you use .NET or C# in your project, keep the MIT License text and attribution together with your distribution.

How to Attribute .NET / C# in Your Project

In README.md

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This project uses [.NET](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/) and [C#](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/) © .NET Foundation and Contributors, MIT License.

In About / Credits page

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.NET / C# - Copyright (c) .NET Foundation and Contributors - MIT License
https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/blob/main/LICENSE.TXT

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.NET platform and C# language, MIT License
Copyright (c) .NET Foundation and Contributors

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