In an attempt to improve its appeal among the academic community, Microsoft on Wednesday released the Shared Source CLI, a beta implementation of the ECMA standard on which the .NET Framework is based. Code-named "Rotor," the almost 1.9 million lines of source code constitutes the internal workings of the .NET Framework, and has been released with developers and academia in mind. Although the code may not be redistributed for commercial purposes, students and teachers are encouraged to explore and modify Rotor.
"The academic community plays a critical role in the software ecosystem as the launching pad for the next generation of developers," said Microsoft's senior vice president of the Developer Platform and Evangelism Division Eric Rudder. "Academia has delivered many breakthrough innovations through pure research. With the Shared Source CLI implementation, we hope to see great innovation around .NET technology."
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