C# in a Nutshell, Second Edition

ECMA Standardization

One of the most encouraging aspects about the .NET Framework is the degree of openness that Microsoft has shown during its development. From the earliest public previews, core specifications detailing the C# language, the classes in the FCL, and the inner workings of the CLR have been freely available.

However, this openness was taken to a new level in November 2000 when Microsoft, along with co-sponsors Intel and HP, officially submitted the specifications for the C# language, a subset of the FCL, and the runtime environment to ECMA for standardization.

This action began an intense standardization process. Organizations participating in the effort included Microsoft, HP, Intel, IBM, Fujitsu Software, ISE, Plum Hall, Monash University, and others. The work was performed under the auspices of ECMA technical committee TC39, the same committee that had previously standardized the JavaScript language as ECMAScript.

TC39 chartered two new task groups to perform the actual standardization work: one to focus on the C# language, the other to focus on what became known as the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI).

The CLI consisted of the runtime engine and the subset of the FCL being standardized. Conceptually, Microsoft’s CLR is intended to be a conforming commercial implementation of the runtime engine specified in the CLI, and Microsoft’s FCL is intended to be a conforming commercial implementation of the class library specified in the CLI (although obviously, it is ...