A set of reusable objects which may be used within the context of a framework
but may also be used as stand-alone objects. The .NET Framework class library is
a library of classes, interfaces, and value types that are included in the
Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). This library provides access to system
functionality and is designed to be the foundation on which .NET Framework
applications, components, and controls are built. At first glance, unmanaged
code seems like the better choice. After all, managed code can call unmanaged
code through It Just Works (IJW), but unmanaged code can only call managed code
through .NET Interop, which is a little slow. And unmanaged code is generally
faster than managed code. But the runtime offers services to your running code,
including memory management, that will make your class library simpler to write
and more reliable when it's running. As well, managed code can be called from
any other managed language (such as Visual Basic .NET or C#), which can simplify
(and speed up) multi-language application development.