The .NET Compact Framework is a development and execution environment for managed applications on Windows Mobile devices. It supports both VB.NET and C# programming languages as well as a subset of core APIs in the standard .NET Framework, which runs on desktop and server computers. A key design goal of the .NET Compact Framework is to help desktop and server developers move to the mobile space quickly. The managed APIs have become Microsoft's core platform strategy, so the .NET Compact Framework is phasing out the traditional eMbedded Visual Basic and eMbedded C++ for Windows CE devices.

Since its version 1.0 launch almost a year ago at Microsoft Mobile DevCon (MDC) 2003, the .NET Compact Framework has attracted more than 150,000 developers and has become the fourth most active .NET newsgroup on the Internet. Version 1.0 and two subsequent service packs have been factory burned into all new Pocket PC and Smartphone device ROMs.

At MDC 2004, Microsoft is previewing the .NET Compact Framework version 2.0, which will be released with Visual Studio 2005. There are significant improvements over version 1.0. The .NET Compact Framework 2.0 will keep up with the latest .NET programming language innovations. It will support C# 2.0 features, including generics, anonymous methods, and iterators for device development. It will also support the VB.NET My.* namespace to allow fast access to local device information. Managed code performance is another key area of improvement. The .NET Compact Framework 2.0 will have a new just-in-time (JIT) dynamic compiler architecture that generates better quality execution code for all processors.