JScript .NET

JScript .NET is a .NET language developed by Microsoft as a natural successor to Microsoft's Active Scripting language JScript.

Both JScript and JScript .NET are languages whose syntax is heavily based on that of Sun Microsystems' Java language. The primary differences between JScript and JScript .NET can be summarized as follows:

The original JScript is a scripting language, and as such programs (or more suggestively, scripts) can be executed without the need to compile the code first. This is not the case with JScript .NET, since this next-generation version relies on the .NET CLR (Common Language Runtime) for execution, which requires that the code be compiled to MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language) code before it can be run.

Secondly, the original JScript had a strong foundation in Microsoft's ActiveX technologies, and relied primarily on ActiveX COM components to provide much of its functionality (including database access via ADO, file handling etc.), whereas JScript .NET uses the .NET Framework to provide equivalent functionality.

Although the .NET Framework and .NET languages such as C# and VB .NET have seen widespread adoption, JScript .NET has never received much attention, by the media or by developers. It is not supported in Microsoft's premier development tool, Visual Studio .NET, and it's unlikely that future versions of .NET will feature JScript .NET prominently.