What is CLR (Common Language Runtime)?

Question

Accepted Answer

**CLR** — runtime environment for .NET applications.

**Responsibilities:**
- Memory management (garbage collection).
- Type safety.
- Exception handling.
- Security.
- Thread management.
- JIT compilation (IL → native code).

**How it works:**
```
C# code → Compiler → IL (Intermediate Language)
IL → JIT compiler → Native code
Native code → CLR → Execution
```

**Key components:**
- **JIT (Just-In-Time)** — compiles IL to native.
- **GC (Garbage Collector)** — memory management.
- **CTS (Common Type System)** — type definitions.
- **CLS (Common Language Specification)** — language interoperability.

C#: What is CLR (Common Language Runtime)?