Pro .NET Framework with the Base Class Library: Understanding the Virtual Execution System and the Common Type System

© Roger Villela  2019

Roger VillelaPro .NET Framework with the Base Class Libraryhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4191-2_2

2. The Base Class Library

Roger Villela¹ 

(1)

São Paulo, Brazil

 

This chapter will cover the BCL foundational library.

The Importance of the BCL

.NET has an extensive set of standard libraries; they are organized into two groups: the core set, which is the BCL, and the complete set, which is the FCL. Both the core set and the complete set are not static (closed); in other words, they are continually being improved by Microsoft and, in the case of the core set for the .NET Core and Mono implementations, by community contributions. The BCL is expected to be part of any .NET implementation as stated by the CLI specification. Because ...