[Originally Published Apr 2004 - Updated October 2009] Everyone "understands" that Microsoft's .NET and the CLR is a "garbage collector" based environment; but is it really. First we must establish what is meant be "garbage" in this context. When an object is created there is (typically) one reference by which it can be accessed (the return value of "new"). While the program executes, there may be other references established to the same item; and established references may terminate. When an object...

[Originally Written October 2004 - Updated September 2009] Many people state that Microsoft .Net technology provides a "Virtual Machine" environment via the CLR. However, an examination of various definitions of Virtual Machine shows that this is not the best analogy. For our first example definition, let us look no further than Microsoft's own site: Virtual Machine: A software-implemented computer that emulates a complete hardware system in a self-contained, isolated software environment and runs...