.NET Core was a free, open-source, cross-platform framework developed by Microsoft. It was designed for building modern, scalable, and high-performance applications that could run on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
However, it's important to note that .NET Core has evolved into .NET 5 and later, which is now simply referred to as ".NET."
Here's a brief overview of .NET Core (and its transition to .NET 5 and later):
Cross-Platform: .NET Core was created to be cross-platform from the start, meaning you could develop and run .NET Core applications on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and different flavors of Linux.
Open Source: Microsoft open-sourced the .NET Core runtime and libraries, allowing the community to contribute and use it freely.
Modular: .NET Core introduced a modular design, where you could include only the libraries your application needed, making it more lightweight and efficient.
Web and Cloud: .NET Core had excellent support for web development, including ASP.NET Core for building web applications and web APIs. It was also well-suited for cloud-native applications.
Performance: .NET Core was optimized for performance, with faster startup times and improved runtime performance compared to the traditional .NET Framework.
Consistency: .NET Core aimed to provide a consistent development experience across different platforms and allowed you to target multiple platforms with a single codebase.
Transition to .NET 5 and Later: With the release of .NET 5 in November 2020, Microsoft merged .NET Core into a unified platform called ".NET." Subsequent versions of .NET are simply named .NET 6, .NET 7, and so on. This unified platform includes the best features and capabilities from both .NET Core and the traditional .NET Framework.
In summary, .NET Core was an important step in the evolution of the .NET ecosystem, emphasizing cross-platform development, open-source collaboration, and improved performance. It has since evolved into .NET 5 and later, offering a more unified and powerful framework for building a wide range of applications.