CLR — Common Language Runtime
The CLR is the Virtual Machine component that manages the execution of .NET supported code. Most commonly used with C-Sharp.
After receiving the compiled binary encoded C# code, the CLR will handle:
- Just-in-Time compiling;
- Code management at run time;
- Garbage collector/ Memory management;
- Handle exceptions and type safety;
- Instance of C# to call methods from another .NET language, like F#.
The most common version of CLR is .NET 8, which is cross-platform, different from the .NET Framework, which was exclusive to Windows.