What is the CLI specification and what are the implementations of it? What else specifications do you know?
Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) is a Microsoft specification for running high-level language program applications in different computer systems without changing the application code. CLI is based on the Microsoft .NET concept that some high-level language programs require modifications due to system hardware and processing constraints.
CLI compiles applications as Intermediate Language (IL), which is automatically compiled as native system code. This approach allows applications to run without code rewrites in limited systems.
CLR (Common Language Runtime) is a component of the .NET framework and is an implementation of the CLI (Common Language Infrastructure) specification. The CLR provides a runtime environment that enables the execution of code written in different languages and handles various tasks such as memory management, garbage collection, type checking, and exception handling. It ensures that the code follows the CLI standards and allows for cross-language interoperability and platform independence in .NET applications.
.NET Core is a cross-platform, open-source implementation of the CLI designed for modern, cloud-based applications. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering more flexibility and performance improvements compared to the .NET Framework.
Apart from CLI (Common Language Infrastructure), there are several other specifications that play important roles in different areas of software development and technology:
CIL (Common Intermediate Language), also known as MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language) or just IL (Intermediate Language), is an intermediate, low-level, platform-agnostic representation of the code generated by the .NET compiler when it compiles high-level programming languages like C#, VB.NET, or F#. Since different .NET programming languages get compiled to the same CIL code, they can interact with each other seamlessly. It allows you to use libraries and components written in different .NET languages within the same application.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a specification defining a communication protocol used on the internet for transmitting data between web clients and servers. It is an application-layer protocol in the internet protocol suite, based on the client-server model for exchanging data between users’ web browsers and web servers hosting websites and web services.
