.NET Framework dependency

Question

When developing a desktop application in .NET, is it possible to not require the .NET Framework? Is developing software in .NET a preferred way to develop desktop applicati

Answer 1

The best practice for .NET application distribution is that the installer is somehow bootstrapped with the .NET Redistributable installer for the required framework, so that if the required framework is not yet installed (say, you need 3.5 in Windows XP) then the installer will just put it in.

The .NET Runtime is small enough an installation that this feasible (it's around 24MB for .NET 2.0, haven't checked how big .NET 3.5 is).