CLR is the environment that actually executes any .NET application. A widely used definition is that the CLR is the virtual machine running any .NET application. Although this simple explanation is somehow correct, we must take a step back and explain in depth what C#, Visual Basic, and CLR are.

.NET is a managed programming language that offers the ability to program any kind of application, target any platform, abstract what is usually said to be low-level programming, such as memory management, object initialization, and finalization, and access any operating system, and so on.

C#, VB.NET, F# and many other high-level languages from Microsoft for the .NET Framework and other non-Microsoft languages such as COBOL.NET are human-oriented languages with proper design pros and cons that are usually linked to historical trade area or scientific needs. For instance, management software was usually made in Visual Basic, while low-level programming in C/C++, scientific programming...