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What Operating Systems does the .NET platform ship natively now?

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Got this question over the weekend: "What Operating Systems does the .NET platform ship natively now?"

So the obvious ones first:

Windows XP Pro SP1

Windows XP Pro SP2

Windows Server 2003

 

What about embedded and mobile?

WinCE 4.0 and above has the optional Compact Framework module available. XPe has the optional full .NET desktop framework.

XPe and WinCE are modular OS’s and so the OS builder has the option of selecting or omitting components. Dont presume .NET will be avalable just because you are running on a platform that supports the module.

Right now .NET is not modularised so everything is selected as as one large component (e.g. CLR + all libraries/ namespaces) so for desktop its around 30MB and for WinCE its ~1.5MB.

 

Regarding Windows Mobile:

Pocket PC 2000 RAM install (requires installation)

Pocket PC 2002 (+AKU1) RAM install (requires installation)

Pocket PC 2002 (AKU2) ROM based (no install required)

Pocket PC 2003 (all AKU’s) and above ROM based (no install required)

Smartphone 2002 Not Available in any form

Smartphone 2003 ROM based (no install required)

 

AKU = Adaptation Kit Update which is a bit like an SP except they ship on regular intervals to device manufacturers and sometimes include features as well as fixes.

There are 3 SP’s for .NET CF available for WinCE and Windows Mobile and each SP is a full build of the CLR and libraries. Compact Framework SP’s are incorporated into the next released AKU and made available to device manufacturers through the AKU process to offer as an OS upgrade on their devices.

  

Marcus