C++/CLI

C++/CLI is a variant of the C++ programming language designed for the Common Language Infrastructure, the runtime model behind .NET. It has been part of Visual Studio since the 2005 release and lets C++ programs work directly with other .NET languages such as C#. Microsoft created it to supersede Managed Extensions for C++, and Ecma International published its specification as the standard ECMA-372 in December 2005. It is meant to be understood as a language of its own, with new keywords and syntax, rather than as a simple superset of C++. .NET reference types are created with the gcnew keyword and reached through handles written with a caret instead of ordinary pointers, and the language adds tracking references, finalizers and operator overloading rules for managed classes. Its interoperability features let C++ code call into C# libraries and marshal strings between the native and .NET worlds. The latest version of C++ supported inside C++/CLI is C++20.