Microsoft shows love for .NET on Valentine's Day with an anniversary broadcast

Net Microsoft Anniversary (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

It's the 20th anniversary of .NET, Microsoft's open-source developer platform.
Microsoft will celebrate the occasion with a live broadcast at 12 PM ET on February 14, 2022.
Developers can use .NET to create apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, the web, and mobile platforms.

Microsoft will celebrate the 20th anniversary of .NET with a live broadcast today, February 14, 2022. The stream starts at 9 AM PT (12 PM ET) and will go on for 45 minutes. With .NET, developers can build apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, mobile platforms, and the web. The cross-platform and open-source developer platform has been around through several versions of Windows and has evolved over the years as an important tool for developers.

🎉 Happy 20th Anniversary @dotNET! 🎉

Join .NET's live anniversary broadcast today at 9:00 AM Pacific Time and share your .NET ❤️ stories using the hashtag #dotNETLovesMe. https://t.co/dSOUtn2SfG pic.twitter.com/D67LBU4KVY🎉 Happy 20th Anniversary @dotNET! 🎉

Join .NET's live anniversary broadcast today at 9:00 AM Pacific Time and share your .NET ❤️ stories using the hashtag #dotNETLovesMe. https://t.co/dSOUtn2SfG pic.twitter.com/D67LBU4KVY— Windows Developer (@windowsdev) February 14, 2022 February 14, 2022

For those unfamiliar with .NET, Microsoft has an eight-part series explaining what the platform is and what it allows developers to do. In short, a developer platform is a set of languages and libraries that can be used to create apps. Several popular languages are supported by .NET, including C#, F#, and Visual Basic. The developer platform can be used to create apps for just about every major platform, including Windows, macOS, and the web. With Xamarin, it can also be used for mobile development.

Microsoft also has a library of videos and articles to help developers get started with .NET.

In addition to supporting desktops and mobile devices, .NET can be used to develop for the Internet of Things (IoT), the cloud, machine learning, and microservices.

Sean Endicott is a news writer and apps editor for Windows Central with 11+ years of experience. A Nottingham Trent journalism graduate, Sean has covered the industry’s arc from the Lumia era to the launch of Windows 11 and generative AI. Having started at Thrifter, he uses his expertise in price tracking to help readers find genuine hardware value.

Beyond tech news, Sean is a UK sports media pioneer. In 2017, he became one of the first to stream via smartphone and is an expert in AP Capture systems. A tech-forward coach, he was named 2024 BAFA Youth Coach of the Year. He is focused on using technology—from AI to Clipchamp—to gain a practical edge.