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.NET Framework Namespaces

What is a namespace? If Microsoft had simply provided a list of several thousand classes, attempting to find or work with any specific class would be next to impossible. Although we're speculating, Microsoft might have ended up using class names such as SystemDataOleDbDataSet and SystemTheadingThread. Long names would be required in order to provide some sort of groupings and perspective.

Instead, Microsoft chose to group the various classes into a hierarchical set of namespaces. Using a syntax that separates levels in the hierarchy with dots, you'll find yourself referring to classes like this:

System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataReader

In this example, the .NET Framework provides a System namespace, a System.Data namespace, ...