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Expand Up @@ -14,9 +14,11 @@ terminology.
| AOT | Ahead-of-time compiler. Converts the MSIL bytecode to native machine code for a specific target CPU architecture. |
| BBT | Microsoft internal early version of C/C++ PGO. See https://www.microsoft.com/windows/cse/bit_projects.mspx. |
| BOTR | Book Of The Runtime. |
| BCL | Base Class Library. A set of `System.*` (and to a limited extent `Microsoft.*`) libraries that make up the lower layer of the .NET library stack. |
| CLR | Common Language Runtime. |
| COMPlus | An early name for the .NET platform, back when it was envisioned as a successor to the COM platform (hence, "COM+"). Used in various places in the CLR infrastructure, most prominently as a common prefix for the names of internal configuration settings. Note that this is different from the product that eventually ended up being named [COM+](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms685978.aspx). |
| COR | [Common Object Runtime](http://www.danielmoth.com/Blog/mscorlibdll.aspx). The name of .NET before it was named .NET. |
| CoreFX | Core Framework. Original roject name for open source and cross-platform version of [.NET runtime libraries](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/tree/master/src/libraries) |
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| DAC | Data Access Component. An abstraction layer over the internal structures in the runtime. |
| EE | Execution Engine. |
| GC | [Garbage Collector](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/blob/master/docs/design/coreclr/botr/garbage-collection.md). |
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Expand Down Expand Up @@ -71,29 +73,6 @@ In this document, the following terms are used:
different implementations. For instance, our vector library relies on the JIT
to use the highest available SIMD instruction set.

* **AOT**. Ahead of time compiler. Similar to JIT, this compiler also translates
IL to machine code. In contrast to JIT compilation, AOT compilation happens
before the application is executed and is usually performed on a different
machine. AOT tool chains don't trade runtime for compile time and thus can
spend more time optimizing. Since the context of AOT is the entire
application, the AOT compiler can also perform cross module linking and whole
program analysis, which means that all references are followed and a single
executable is produced.

* **NGEN**. Native (image) generation. You can think of this technology as a
persistent JIT compiler. It usually compiles code on the machine where the
code will be executed, but compilation typically occurs at install time.

* **CoreFX**. Core framework. Conceptually a set of `System.*` (and to a limited
extent `Microsoft.*`) libraries that make up the lower layer of the .NET
library stack. It's what most people would think of as the Base Class Library
(BCL). The BCL is a general purpose, lower level set of functionality that
higher-level frameworks, such as WCF and ASP.NET, build on. The source code of
the .NET Core library stack is contained in the [CoreFX repo][corefx].
However, the majority of the .NET Core APIs are also available in the .NET
Framework, so you can think of CoreFX as a fork of the .NET Framework library
stack.

* **CLI**. Command Line Interface --or-- Common Language Infastructure.
* Command Line Interface: A tool that has no graphical interface and is
intended to be used completely from a console/terminal. Also is commonly
Expand All @@ -103,114 +82,30 @@ In this document, the following terms are used:
[ECMA-355][ECMA-355].

* **CLR**. Common Language Runtime: The runtime/environment that .NET code
executes in. Is also commonly used to refer to the Microsoft Windows only
implementation

## Runtimes

### Common Language Runtime

**Also referred to as**: CLR, VM, runtime

The CLR is a virtual machine, i.e. it includes the facilities to generate and
compile code on-the-fly using a JIT compiler. The existing Microsoft CLR
implementation is Windows only.
executes in. Is also commonly used to refer to the Microsoft .NET Framework
Windows only implementation.
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### Core Common Language Runtime
## .NET Runtimes

**Also referred to as**: CoreCLR, VM, runtime
### .NET Core / .NET

It's built from the same code base as the CLR. Originally, CoreCLR was the
runtime of Silverlight and was designed to run on multiple platforms,
specifically Windows and OS X. CoreCLR is now part of .NET Core and represents a
simplified version of the CLR. It's still a [cross platform][core-build-status]
runtime. CoreCLR is also a virtual machine with a JIT.
.NET Core has been the name for the open source, cross-platform stack that
ASP.NET Core and UWP applications are built on. For more details,
read [this blog post][introducing-net-core].
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### Core Runtime

**Also referred to as**: CoreRT

In contrast to the CLR/CoreCLR, CoreRT is not a virtual machine, i.e. it doesn't
include the facilities to generate and run code on-the-fly because it doesn't
include a JIT. It does, however, include the GC and the ability for runtime type
identification (RTTI) as well as reflection. However, its type system is
designed so that metadata for reflection can be omitted. This enables having an
AOT tool chain that can link away superfluous metadata and (more importantly)
identify code that the application doesn't use.

## Platforms
.NET Core has become future of the platform and we refer to it just as .NET today.
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For more details, read [this blog post][introducing-net-5].
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### .NET Framework

**Also referred to as**: Desktop, full framework, in-box framework, ~~CLR~~
**Also referred to as**: Desktop, full framework

This refers to the .NET Framework that first shipped in 2002 and has been
updated on a regular basis since then. It's the main framework folks target
today and allows you to build a wide variety of applications, such as WinForms,
WPF, ASP.NET, and command line tools.
.NET Framework was the very first .NET runtime. It first shipped in 2002 and it has been
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updated on a regular basis since then.

The .NET Framework was designed to run on Windows only. Some versions of the
.NET Framework come pre-installed with Windows, some require to be installed.
However, in both cases the .NET Framework is a system-wide component.
Applications do not include .NET Framework DLLs when deploying; the correct .NET
version must be on the machine.

### .NET Core

**Also referred to as**: UWP, ~~Store~~

Originally, .NET Core was the identifier we used to describe the .NET APIs
Windows 8 store applications could use. When we designed the API set, we wanted
to create a foundation for .NET where portability is a first class concern for
the layering and componentization. For more details, read [this blog
post][introducing-net-core].

Today, .NET Core is no longer just for store applications. .NET Core is the name
for the open source, cross-platform stack that ASP.NET Core and UWP applications
are built on. The stack includes a set of framework libraries (CoreFX), a JIT
based runtime (CoreCLR), an AOT based runtime (CoreRT), and a set of tooling
(such as the dotnet CLI).

That's why referring to .NET Core as 'Store' is no longer correct. But you can
think of today's .NET Core as an evolution of the original APIs available for
store applications. Many of the original design goals are still relevant,
especially around layering and portability.

### Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

**Also referred to as**: Store, WinRT, Metro

The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is the platform that is used for building
modern, touch-enabled Windows applications as well as headless devices for
Internet of Things (IoT). It's designed to unify the different types of devices
that you may want to target, including PCs, tablets, phablets, phones, and even
the Xbox.

UWP provides many services, such as a centralized app store, an execution
environment (AppContainer), and a set of Windows APIs to use instead of Win32
(WinRT). UWP has no dependency on .NET; apps can be written in C++, C#, VB.NET,
and JavaScript. When using C# and VB.NET the .NET APIs are provided by .NET
Core.

**Also referred to as**: ahead-of-time (AOT), IL compiler (ILC)

.NET Native is a compiler tool chain that will produce native code ahead-of-time
(AOT), as opposed to just-in-time (JIT). The compilation can happen on the
developer machine as well as on the store side, which allows blending AOT with
the benefits of servicing.

You can think of .NET Native as an evolution of NGEN (Native Image Generator):
NGEN basically simply runs the JIT up front, the code quality and behavior is
identical to the JITed version. Another downside of NGEN is that it happens on
the user's machine, rather than the developer's machine. NGEN is also at the
module level, i.e. for each MSIL assembly there is a corresponding NGEN'ed
assembly that contains the native code. .NET Native on the other hand is a C++
like compiler and linker. It will remove unused code, spend more time optimizing
it, and produce a single, merged module that represents the closure of the
application.

UWP was the first application model that was supported by .NET Native. We now
also support building native console applications for Windows, OS X and Linux.

### Rotor

Expand All @@ -232,34 +127,58 @@ officially updated since .NET Framework 2.0.

### Mono

Mono is an open source alternative to the .NET Framework. Mono started around
[Mono][mono] is an open source alternative to the .NET Framework. Mono started around
the same time the .NET Framework was first released. Since Microsoft didn't
release Rotor as open source, Mono was forced to start from scratch and is thus
release Rotor as open source, Mono was forced to start from scratch and was thus
a complete re-implementation of the .NET Framework with no shared code.

When .NET Core was released under the MIT license, Microsoft also released large
chunks of the .NET Framework under the MIT license as well, which can be found
[here][referencesource]. This enabled the Mono community to use the same code
the .NET Framework uses in order to close gaps and avoid behavioral differences.
Today, the [Mono runtime](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/tree/master/src/mono) is part
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of unified .NET platform. It is optimized for mobile (e.g. Xamarin) and browser (e.g. Blazor) scenarios.
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### CoreCLR

Originally, CoreCLR was the runtime of Silverlight and was designed to run on multiple
platforms, specifically Windows and OS X.
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Today, the [CoreCLR runtime](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/tree/master/src/coreclr)
is part of unified .NET platform. It is optimized for cloud (e.g. ASP.NET) and
desktop (e.g. WinForms, WPF) scenarios.

## Ahead-Of-Time Compilation (AOT)

Most flavors of .NET runtime come with at least partial AOT compilation. Variety of AOT technologies
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with unique characteristics were developed for .NET runtimes over the years.

### ReadyToRun

**Also referred to as**: R2R

[ReadyToRun](https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/blob/master/docs/design/coreclr/botr/readytorun-overview.md)
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is a file format used by CoreCLR runtime to store AOT compiled code. `crossgen` is the AOT compiler that
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produces binaries in the ReadyToRun file format.

### NGen

[NGen](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/tools/ngen-exe-native-image-generator)
is AOT technology included in .NET Framework. It usually compiles code on the machine where
the code will be executed at install time.
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### Full AOT
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@marek-safar Anything to add about the main Mono AOT tech flavors?

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I think Full AOT is same as NativeAOT in this context


Mono is primarily used to run .NET applications on Linux and macOS (though to
get into the Mac App Store you need Xamarin, see below). There are ports of Mono
to other platforms, see [Mono's Supported Platforms][mono-supported-platforms]
[Full AOT](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/ios/internals/architecture) is used
by Mono runtime in environments that prohibit fallback to JIT.

Mono has implementations (though not necessarily complete) of WinForms, ASP.NET,
and System.Drawing.
### Hybrid AOT

### Xamarin
[Hybrid AOT](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/mac/internals/aot#hybrid-aot) is used
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by Mono runtime in environment that allow fallback to JIT.
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Xamarin is a commercial offering for building mobile applications targeting
Android, iOS and Mac OS X Store. It's based on Mono, and on iOS and Android
surfaces a different API profile, called the mobile profile. The subsetting was
necessary to reduce the footprint, both by shipping smaller versions of the
system libraries as well as making them more linker friendly. While Mono runs on
macOS without Xamarin, their linker is required make the app package for the
Mac App Store. Xamarin ships a full static compiler on iOS, as the platform
does not support dynamic code generation.
### Native AOT

[Native AOT](https://github.com/dotnet/designs/blob/main/accepted/2020/form-factors.md#native-aot-form-factors) is
a .NET runtime form factor with key performance characteristics (startup time, binary size and steady state throughput) competitive
with statically compiled languages. .NET runtime flavor based on CoreCLR with these characteristics is being developed as
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experimental project in [dotnet/runtimelab](https://github.com/dotnet/runtimelab/tree/feature/NativeAOT) repo.

## Frameworks

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -346,8 +265,8 @@ and enabling support for running WPF on .NET Core (Windows Only).


[introducing-net-core]: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/introducing-net-core/
[core-build-status]: https://github.com/dotnet/coreclr#build-status
[corefx]: http://github.com/dotnet/corefx
[introducing-net-5]: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/introducing-net-5/
[mono]: http://github.com/mono/mono
[referencesource]: https://github.com/microsoft/referencesource
[mono-supported-platforms]: http://www.mono-project.com/docs/about-mono/supported-platforms/
[mono-winforms]: http://www.mono-project.com/docs/gui/winforms/
Expand Down