Where exactly is .NET Runtime (CLR), JIT Compiler located?

Question

This question might look a bit foolish or odd but I have heard a lot of about .NET CLR, JIT compiler and how it works blah blah blah... But now I am wondering where exactly it i

Answer 1

This is based upon my understanding and will guide you towards you answer, but may not be fully flushed out.

The EXE/DLL files that make up the DotNet Runtime (CLR, etc.) are located in the following locations:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework   // for the 32 bit runtime
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64 // for the 64 bit runtime

Within there, you have the different editions such as 2.0.50727, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0.30319 (versions on my system today).

This is where MSBuild, as well as the files that are registered with IIS are located and run from.

I don't know if this ends up being hosted by Windows at runtime, or if there is an actual EXE you could attach to with a debugger and see in the task manager.

Hopefully this provides some more insight for you.