Common Language Runtime

TheCommon Language Runtime(CLR), thevirtual machinecomponent ofMicrosoft.NET Framework,manages the execution of.NET programs.Just-in-time compilationconverts themanaged code(compiledintermediate languagecode) intomachine instructionswhich are then executed on theCPUof the computer.The CLR provides additional services includingmemory management,type safety,exception handling,garbage collection,security andthread management.All programs written for the.NET Framework, regardless ofprogramming language,are executed in the CLR. All versions of the.NET Framework include CLR. The CLR team was started June 13, 1998.

CLR implements theVirtual Execution System(VES) as defined in theCommon Language Infrastructure(CLI) standard, initially developed by Microsoft itself. A public standard defines the Common Language Infrastructure specification.

During the transition from legacy.NET technologies like the.NET Framework and its proprietary runtime to the community-developed.NET Core,the CLR was dubbedCoreCLR.Today, it is simply called the.NET runtime.

Overview of the Common Language Runtime release history

CLR version	.NET version
1.0	1.0
1.1	1.1
2.0	2.0,3.0,3.5
4	4,4.5,4.6,4.7,4.8

See also

• Common Intermediate Language
• List of CLI languages
• Java virtual machine

External links

• Components of Common Language Runtime
• Components of CLR
• Overview of the.NET Framework 4.0
• .NET Framework Conceptual Overview