The .NET ecosystem has evolved significantly since 2016 when .NET Core 1.0 was released. Initially introduced as a lean, modular, and cross-platform subset of the full .NET Framework, .NET Core has matured into a robust platform for building a wide range of applications.
A Unified Platform
As of .NET 5 and its successor, .NET 6, the platform unifies the .NET ecosystem, bringing together the best of .NET Core, .NET Framework, Xamarin, and Mono into a single framework.