.NET class library overview

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.NET implementations include classes, interfaces, delegates, and value types that expedite and optimize the development process and provide access to system functionality. To facilitate interoperability between languages, most .NET types are CLS-compliant and can therefore be used from any programming language whose compiler conforms to the common language specification (CLS).

.NET types are the foundation on which .NET applications, components, and controls are built. .NET implementations include types that perform the following functions:

  • Represent base data types and exceptions.

  • Encapsulate data structures.

  • Perform I/O.

  • Access information about loaded types.

  • Invoke .NET Framework security checks.

  • Provide data access, rich client-side GUI, and server-controlled, client-side GUI.

.NET provides a rich set of interfaces, as well as abstract and concrete (non-abstract) classes. You can use the concrete classes as is or, in many cases, derive your own classes from them. To use the functionality of an interface, you can either create a class that implements the interface or derive a class from one of the .NET classes that implements the interface.

Naming conventions

.NET types use a dot syntax naming scheme that connotes a hierarchy. This technique groups related types into namespaces so they can be searched and referenced more easily. The first part of the full name — up to the rightmost dot — is the namespace name. The last part of the name is the type name. For example, System.Collections.Generic.List<T> represents the List<T> type, which belongs to the System.Collections.Generic namespace. The types in System.Collections.Generic can be used to work with generic collections.

This naming scheme makes it easy for library developers extending the .NET Framework to create hierarchical groups of types and name them in a consistent, informative manner. It also allows types to be unambiguously identified by their full name (that is, by their namespace and type name), which prevents type name collisions. Library developers are expected to use the following convention when creating names for their namespaces:

CompanyName.TechnologyName

For example, the namespace Microsoft.Word conforms to this guideline.

The use of naming patterns to group related types into namespaces is a very useful way to build and document class libraries. However, this naming scheme has no effect on visibility, member access, inheritance, security, or binding. A namespace can be partitioned across multiple assemblies and a single assembly can contain types from multiple namespaces. The assembly provides the formal structure for versioning, deployment, security, loading, and visibility in the common language runtime.

For more information on namespaces and type names, see Common Type System.

System namespace

The System namespace is the root namespace for fundamental types in .NET. This namespace includes classes that represent the base data types used by all applications: Object (the root of the inheritance hierarchy), Byte, Char, Array, Int32, String, and so on. Many of these types correspond to the primitive data types that your programming language uses. When you write code using .NET Framework types, you can use your language's corresponding keyword when a .NET Framework base data type is expected.

The following table lists the base types that .NET supplies, briefly describes each type, and indicates the corresponding type in Visual Basic, C#, C++, and F#.

Category Class name Description Visual Basic data type C# data type C++/CLI data type F# data type
Integer Byte An 8-bit unsigned integer. Byte byte unsigned char byte
SByte An 8-bit signed integer.

Not CLS-compliant.		 SByte sbyte char
-or-
signed char		 sbyte
Int16 A 16-bit signed integer. Short short short int16
Int32 A 32-bit signed integer. Integer int int

-or-

long		 int
Int64 A 64-bit signed integer. Long long __int64 int64
UInt16 A 16-bit unsigned integer.

Not CLS-compliant.		 UShort ushort unsigned short uint16
UInt32 A 32-bit unsigned integer.

Not CLS-compliant.		 UInteger uint unsigned int
-or-
unsigned long		 uint32
UInt64 A 64-bit unsigned integer.

Not CLS-compliant.		 ULong ulong unsigned __int64 uint64
Floating point Single A single-precision (32-bit) floating-point number. Single float float float32
or
single
Double A double-precision (64-bit) floating-point number. Double double double float
or
double
Logical Boolean A Boolean value (true or false). Boolean bool bool bool
Other Char A Unicode (16-bit) character. Char char wchar_t char
Decimal A decimal (128-bit) value. Decimal decimal Decimal decimal
IntPtr A signed integer whose size depends on the underlying platform (a 32-bit value on a 32-bit platform and a 64-bit value on a 64-bit platform). IntPtr

No built-in type.		 IntPtr

No built-in type.		 IntPtr

No built-in type.		 unativeint
UIntPtr An unsigned integer whose size depends on the underlying platform (a 32- bit value on a 32-bit platform and a 64-bit value on a 64-bit platform).

Not CLS-compliant.		 UIntPtr

No built-in type.		 UIntPtr

No built-in type.		 UIntPtr

No built-in type.		 unativeint
Object The root of the object hierarchy. Object object Object^ obj
String An immutable, fixed-length string of Unicode characters. String string String^ string

In addition to the base data types, the System namespace contains over 100 classes, ranging from classes that handle exceptions to classes that deal with core runtime concepts, such as application domains and the garbage collector. The System namespace also contains many second-level namespaces.

For more information about namespaces, use the .NET API Browser to browse the .NET Class Library. The API reference documentation provides documentation on each namespace, its types, and each of their members.

See also