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.NET Framework version history
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<p>Microsoft started development on the <a href="/facts/.NET_Framework/J6QDAUhP">.NET Framework</a> in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET Framework 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was released on 13 February 2002, bringing <a href="/facts/Managed_code/3jJfe94N">managed code</a> to <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_4.0/EcKYxrkx">Windows NT 4.0</a>, <a href="/facts/Windows_98/6qtq4oJm">98</a>, <a href="/facts/Windows_2000/amJIt9gz">2000</a>, <a href="/facts/Windows_ME/fjENFRNa">ME</a> and <a href="/facts/Windows_XP/IozrkAYS">XP</a>. </p><p>Since the first version, Microsoft has released nine more upgrades for .NET Framework, seven of which have been released along with a new version of <a href="/facts/Visual_Studio/omNe6Lej">Visual Studio</a>. Two of these upgrades, .NET Framework 2.0 and 4.0, have upgraded <a href="/facts/Common_Language_Runtime/4Y0cUdkd">Common Language Runtime</a> (CLR). New versions of .NET Framework replace older versions when the CLR version is the same. </p><p>The .NET Framework family also includes two versions for <a href="/facts/Mobile_computing/eHT86bQU">mobile</a> or <a href="/facts/Embedded_device/a4muX1wU">embedded device</a> use. A reduced version of the framework, the <a href="/facts/.NET_Compact_Framework/yc74kdnP">.NET Compact Framework</a>, is available on <a href="/facts/Windows_CE/bMUhjgqQ">Windows CE</a> platforms, including <a href="/facts/Windows_Mobile/YfskR7FS">Windows Mobile</a> devices such as <a href="/facts/Smartphone/cSIrBMWG">smartphones</a>. Additionally, the <a href="/facts/.NET_Micro_Framework/334B92WM">.NET Micro Framework</a> is targeted at severely resource-constrained devices. </p><p>.NET Framework 4.8 was announced as the last major version of .NET Framework, with future work going into the rewritten and <a href="/facts/Cross-platform_software/16zqdvNR">cross-platform</a> <a href="/facts/.NET/PDMQdfFu">.NET Core</a> platform (later, simply <i>.NET</i>), which shipped as <i>.NET 5</i> in November 2020. However, .NET Framework 4.8.1 was released in August 2022. </p>