Exactly how large is the .NET (3.5) Framework Class Library?

Question

I\'ve regularly read that the framework is just too large for one developer to have experience with every part of it. Having some actual numbers would certainly help put things

Answer 1

It's a bit difficult to answer without having a definition of what 'big' means -- IL (.dll) size? Source code size? Scope of functionality? Also, are you talking about the most recent redistributable of 3.5 SP1 without any of the official add-ons (that is, F# stuff, MVC, etc.) that are fully supported parts of the 'framework' but don't ship with the 3.5 redistributable?

I am not trying to be difficult... I am just saying that there is a few variables that go into how one would even determine what is to be measured, then some questions about what kind of stick is used to measure it.