microsoft.Net Framework do I need it

Hello
I downloaded cleancache
http://www.buttuglysoftware.com/
and when installed it stated that I need to install .Net Framework also AUTOCAD needs it too. I found it, but its a 106Mb what is it and do I need it on my computer. is it good to have it. Thank you

 

This is a new language to make software, so will be useful to have it installed in your pc...

 

Short answer:
You need it if the programs you are interested in running need it. It's pretty much as simple as that.

Long answer:
The Microsoft .NET Framework represents a collection of technologies that allows developers to write code in a new, allegedly more productive way. The reality is that not many commercial, shrink-wrap software developers have adopted the use of these technologies nor do I expect them to in mass for at least the next few years. So, while you will find the occassional program that requires .NET, typically there is an alternative program available with similar functionality that does not require .NET. It won't really hurt you to download .NET, but it might be overkill and a waste of time and harddrive space if it is only for one or two small programs that you may rarely use anyway.

What is .NET? It is comprised of a Common Language Runtime (CLR), the .NET Framework Class Library, compilers and developer tools for some new programming languages (eg, C#, VB.NET, etc.), and some ancillary technologies like ASP.NET that allow programmers to develop web services using many of the same techniques and tools. At its core, .NET is somewhat like Java in that it makes use of an intermediate code or byte code. That is, .NET programs do not get compiled directly down into machine specific instructions but rather into a platform neutral "intermediate" code. The CLR takes this intermediate code and converts it into a functioning program essentially on-the-fly as well as managing resources and recovering memory that may no longer be in use (ie, "garbage collection"). The .NET Framework Class Library is a bunch of objects and routines that are already programmed and available for reuse by developers. These library routines perform many complicated as well as not so complicated tasks that lie at the core of most programs. They are provided so that developers do not have to re-invent the wheel, so to speak.

 

KISS. The more stuff you have in the PC, the greater the chance of a problem.

 

Nice description of .NET. Thanks Alec!