Visual Studio .NET is a superb, next-generation development tool. At its heart is the .NET Framework, a runtime engine and class library that enables rapid application building for both Windows and Web applications. The runtime engine handles housekeeping tasks, like memory management, while also providing fine-grained security and version awareness. The class library reduces the code needed to build rich applications. Visual Studio .NET also provides a slick visual environment, with features like tabbed and docking windows, dynamic online help, and automatic code completion and hints.