C# 4.0 Unleashed

The Common Language Infrastructure

The Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) is an ECMA standard (specification 335) that specifies the runtime infrastructure required to execute so-called managed code, to allow different libraries and languages to work together seamlessly. At the time the .NET project was started at Microsoft in the late ’90s, it was clear that the key to success in the space cross-language interoperability was to involve language groups both inside the company and outside (like Fujitsu to provide a COBOL implementation on the platform) to ensure the robustness of the design. As part of that initiative, Microsoft formed a team with Hewlett-Packard and Intel to work on standardizing the CLI, which took place in 2001.

One implementation ...