News

Microsoft Posts .NET 3.5 Framework Download

Yesterday, Microsoft posted the final version of the .NET Framework 3.5 to its download site, as well as several updates to other .NET Framework versions.

The Framework 3.5 download includes SP1 updates to .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0, which are also available as separate downloads. .NET Framework 3.0 download is available here. For the .NET Framework 2.0 SP1, three versions are available: x86, x64 and IA64.

Microsoft released the 3.5 Framework when it launched Visual Studio 2008 back in November. This is the first time that the new framework has been available as a separate download from the Microsoft site.

Redmond considers 3.5 an "incremental" build improving on the "new features added in .NET Framework 3.0 [like] Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Windows CardSpace." Probably the most noteworthy addition to 3.5 is LINQ, but it also features additional protocol support, new classes and integration with Visual Studio 2008. A quick comparison of all .NET versions is available here.

Microsoft has posted a number of other downloads of interest for developers in the past few days, including:

Microsoft began releasing the source code for the .NET Framework Libraries last week.

About the Author

Becky Nagel serves as vice president of AI for 1105 Media specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She also regularly writes and reports on AI news, and is the founding editor of PureAI.com. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. Find her on X/Twitter @beckynagel.