In the pre-release version
.NET Framework 3.0 was called
WinFX. It is the new managed-code programming model for windows. It combines the power of .NET Framework 2.0 with new technologies for building applications that have a better user experience, seamless communication across technology boundaries and support for a wide range of business processes.
It is a integral part of Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn" operating systems, it is also available for Windows Xp in the Service Pack2 and in Service Pack1 of Windows Server 2003.
The .NET Framework 3.0 adds new technologies to the .NET Framework 2.0 which makes the .NET Framework 3.0 a superset of the .NET Framework 2.0. This new version of the .NET Framework is designed to provide backward compatiblity with the previous version.
.NET Framework 3.0 consists of these major components:Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) formerly codenamed "
Avalon" - It is a new user interface subsystem and API based on XML and vector graphics, which uses 3D graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies.
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) formerly codenamed "
Indigo" - It is a service-oriented messaging system which allows programs to interoperate locally or remotely similar to web services.
Windows CardSpace formerly codenamed "
InfoCard" - It is a software component which securely stores a person's digital identities and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction for eg. logging in to a website.
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Installing and Detecting .NET Framework 3.0To install .NET Framework 3.0, you must have one of the following operating systems installed :
- Microsoft Windows Xp Home or Xp Home Professional with Service Pack 2 or later.
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family with Service Pack 1 or later.Minimum hardware requirement to install .NET Framework 3.0 is Pentium 400 MHz with 96 MB RAM but recommended is Pentium 1 GHz or higher with 256 MB RAM.
To check if .NET Framework 3.0 is installed you can look for this specific registry key in the Registry
For .NET Framework 3.0"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v3.0\Setup" the DWORD value of this key would be "1".
Similarly to check if version 2 is installed or not you can check for following registry entry
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v2.0.50727" the DWORD value of this also would be "1".
You can
Click Here for detecting .NET Framework 3.0 on your system using internet explorer.
You can
click here to download .NET Framework 3.0 from MSDN.