Microsoft .NET Framework
The Microsoft .NET Framework is a toolset or ‘platform’ that developers use to build software applications. It is like a toolbox that developers use to put together programs.
Microsoft introduced this toolbox in 2000, and it has undergone several enhancements over time to add more tools and improve the existing ones. It was initially designed to make it easier for developers to build applications for Windows, which is the operating system running on most PCs.
In 2016, they introduced .NET Core, a sleeker, more modern version of .NET that can be used to build software for Windows and other operating systems like Linux and macOS. Notice the different names of these products!