what is standalone application?

Context is C#,.Net framework. Is it the application that runs without any ne开发者_开发技巧ed to install framework? Or is it just a desktop(windows) application?

Is it the application that runs without any need to install framework?

No. Any C# application is going to require the CLR to be installed.

Or is it just a desktop(windows) application?

Yes.

Nope, .net applications are compiled not into the native binaries that are ready to run under target OS, but into Intermediate Language that is compiled into native executable in the memory, right after and each time you run an application.

To me, a standalone application is one that doesn't need an installer. It is just an EXE that you can copy to a folder and double-click on to run.