A Microsoft operating
system platform that incorporates applications, a suite of tools and services
and a change in the infrastructure of the company's Web strategy.
The .NET Framework
supports building and running of next gen of applications and XML Web services.
There are four main
principles of .NET from the perspective of the user:
- It erases the boundaries between applications and the Internet. Instead of interacting with an application or a single Web site, .NET will connect the user to an array of computers and services that will exchange and combine objects and data.
- Software will be rented as a hosted service over the Internet instead of purchased on a store shelf. Essentially, the Internet will be housing all your applications and data.
- Users will have access to their information on the Internet from any device, anytime, anywhere.
- There will be new ways to interact with application data, such as speech and handwriting recognition.
.NET depends on four
Internet standards:
- HTTP
- XML
- SOAP
- UDDI
Microsoft views this
technology as revolutionary, enabling Internet users to do things that were
never before possible, such as integrate fax, email and phone services,
centralize data storage and synchronize all of a users computing devices to be
automatically updated.
1. HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol
Short
for HyperText Transfer Protocol, HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the
World Wide Web.
HTTP
defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web
servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
For
example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP
command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web
page.
The
other main standard that controls how the World Wide Web works is HTML, which
covers how Web pages are formatted and displayed.
HTTP:
A Stateless Protocol
HTTP
is called a stateless protocol because each command is executed independently,
without any knowledge of the commands that came before it.
This
is the main reason that it is difficult to implement Web sites that react
intelligently to user input.
This
shortcoming of HTTP is being addressed in a number of new technologies,
including ActiveX, Java, JavaScript and cookies.
2. XML
Short
for Extensible Markup Language, a specification developed by the W3C.
XML
is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents.
It
allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition,
transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and
between organizations.
3. SOAP
Short
for Simple Object Access Protocol, a lightweight XML-based messaging protocol
used to encode the information in Web service request and response messages
before sending them over a network.
SOAP
messages are independent of any operating system or protocol and may be
transported using a variety of Internet protocols, including SMTP, MIME, and
HTTP.
4. UDDI
Short
for Universal Description, Discovery and Integration.
A
Web-based distributed directory that enables businesses to list themselves on
the Internet and discover each other, similar to a traditional phone book's
yellow and white pages.