Questions regarding Microsoft .NET Framework

Can anyone help me?

I have a computer running Windows XP Professional. I intend to install Microsoft .NET Framework, but am unsure which versions to install. I know some programs which require it will automatically install it, but was thinking of installing .NET Framework in advance.

I have a basic understanding of what it is -- a sort of programming environment for software developers, and needs to be installed in order to run programs developed using it.

I know there are currently five versions:

1.0 (I'm going to skip worrying about this one)
1.1 (Going to install this from Microsoft Update)
2.0
3.0
3.5

When I use Microsoft Update, the only versions which appear under Optional Software Updates is 1.1 and 2.0. Is there a reason 3.0 and 3.5 aren't listed? I can find them at the Microsoft Download Center. As far as I know, they can both be installed on XP.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...0B-F857-4A14-83F5-25634C3BF043&displaylang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FD-AE52-4E35-B531-508D977D32A6&displaylang=en

More info I found:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework
http://askville.amazon.com/average-...ed-computer/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=5096562

I'm trying to figure out if I should install 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5, or just 3.5?

From things I've read online, it definitely seems like 3.5 installs both 2.0 and 3.0, but I still feel uncertain. Is it the same 2.0 and 3.0 versions that will be needed for programs written specifically for 2.0 or 3.0? Or are they modified versions of 2.0 and 3.0 made to work for 3.5?

Perhaps someone out there has more experience with .NET Framework and can tell me.

 

If you install 3.5 it will automatically install 2.0 and 3.0.

here is an explanation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET#.NET_Framework_3.5

and here is the download
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa569263.aspx

http://smileydatabase.com/s/115.gif

 

Thanks for the reply!

So on my XP Pro machine, if I install just .NET Framework 1.1 and 3.5, that will allow me to run programs made with 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5.

Should there be any problems installing 3.5 on XP, even though 3.0 and 3.5 don't appear on Microsoft Update for me?


I found out this morning from a news article that just yesterday Microsoft released .NET Framework 3.5 SP1!

To find the download, I went to the Microsoft Download Center
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Search.aspx?displaylang=en

And manually searched for ".NET Framework 3.5". I found this on the second page of results:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...2f-5d1a-413d-8319-81da479ab0d7&DisplayLang=en