In the world of web and application development, there are many frameworks and languages that developers can choose from. Each framework has features and benefits that make them different.
ASP.NET is built on top of .NET
The .NET platform
.NET is a developer platform made up of tools, programming languages, and libraries for building many different types of applications.
The base platform provides components that apply to all different types of apps. Additional frameworks, such as ASP.NET, extend .NET with components for building specific types of apps.
ASP.NET
ASP.NET is an open source, server-side web application framework created by Microsoft. ASP.NET allows developers to create web applications, web services, and dynamic content-driven websites.
ASP.NET is built on top of .NET
Cross-platform. Open source.
A framework for building web apps and services with .NET and C#.
ASP.NET extends .NET
ASP.NET extends the .NET platform with tools and libraries specifically for building web apps.
These are some things that ASP.NET adds to the .NET platform:
- Base framework for processing web requests in C# or F#
- Web-page templating syntax, known as Razor, for building dynamic web pages using C#
- Libraries for common web patterns, such as Model View Controller (MVC)
- Authentication system that includes libraries, a database, and template pages for handling logins, including multi-factor authentication and external authentication with Google, Twitter, and more.
- Editor extensions to provide syntax highlighting, code completion, and other functionality specifically for developing web pages
Back-end code
When using ASP.NET your back-end code, such as business logic and data access, is written using C#, F#, or Visual Basic.
Because ASP.NET extends .NET, you can use the large ecosystem of packages and libraries available to all .NET developers. You can also author your own libraries that are shared between any applications written on the .NET platform.
Dynamic pages using C#, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Razor provides a syntax for creating dynamic web pages using HTML and C#. Your C# code is evaluated on the server and the resulting HTML content is sent to the user.
Code that executes client-side is written in JavaScript. ASP.NET integrates with JavaScript frameworks and includes pre-configured templates for single page app (SPA) frameworks like React and Angular.
Pages, APIs, real-time, and microservices
ASP.NET allows you to build many types of web applications, including web pages, APIs, microservices, and hubs.
What is ASP.NET Core?
If you use ASP.NET, you'll soon come across the term ASP.NET Core.
ASP.NET Core is a newer version of ASP.NET that runs on every major computing platform, including Windows, MacOS and Linux. Like ASP.NET, it is open source, created by Microsoft and allows developers to create web applications, web services, and dynamic content-driven websites.
ASP.NET Core is the open-source and cross-platform version of ASP.NET.
At Assemblysoft we use ASP.NET Core for all new ASP.NET applications.
https://assemblysoft.com/skills/asp-dotnet
Developers who know ASP.NET can leverage their existing knowledge of C# and can quickly pick up the framework differences introduced in ASP.NET Core.
The Windows-only versions of ASP.NET, that existed before ASP.NET Core, is typically just referred to as ASP.NET. The majority of innovation occurs in ASP.NET Core, but other versions continue to receive minor updates and bug-fixes.
Why should I use it?
There are plenty of good reasons to use ASP.NET when developing a website or an application. High speed, low cost, and vast language support are among the most significant benefits.
ASP.NET is built into the familiar Windows server environment, requiring less setup and configuration than other web development platforms that must be installed and configured separately. The popularity of ASP.NET makes online resources and skilled developers easy to find.
Websites and applications built with ASP.NET can be faster and more efficient than a website build with PHP, for example. ASP.NET applications are compiled, which means the code is translated into object code, which is then executed. This compilation process takes a small amount of time, but happens only once. After compilation, the code can be executed over and over by the .NET platform very quickly.
If you would like some assistance with .NET MAUI | Azure | Azure DevOps Services | Blazor Development then please get in touch, we would be glad to help.
Fast and scalable
ASP.NET performs faster than any popular web framework.
Data sourced from official tests available at TechEmpower Round 19.
Compiled code benefits
Interpreted code is not directly executed by the machine, but must be read and interpreted each time before being executed. Compiled code is usually faster and more scalable than interpreted code, and can do anything interpreted code can do. Examples of interpreted languages include PHP, JavaScript and Ruby.
The compilation process also provides validation that all of the code is consistent. Interpreted languages do not identify errors until the code is actually run and tested. In a large application, it is very time consuming to manually test every scenario, or to write and maintain additional code that tests every scenario, whenever code is changed.
Build secure apps
ASP.NET supports industry standard authentication protocols. Built-in features help protect your apps against cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).
ASP.NET provides a built-in user database with support for multi-factor authentication and external authentication with Google, Twitter, and more.
Reduced development costs
Software cost is an important factor when developing a website. It used to be that developers had to buy expensive software (called Integrated Development Environments, or IDEs) in order to build applications. These days, most code can be written using free tools.
ASP.NET code can be written using a simple text editor, various free programming text editors and, most commonly, Microsoft’s widely used Visual Studio application, which is available in a free Community Edition for non-corporate use. Companies with larger teams must purchase a license to use Visual Studio, but the cost is competitive with professional IDEs for other platforms.
Microsoft also provides Visual Studio Code, a lighter-weight IDE and editor, which is free for everyone, including corporations.
The good news for our clients here at Assemblysoft is we have already taken care of purchasing the required licenses for all the tooling required to develop your application and further advise on any license requirements required to keep you compliant. When our clients also choose to host their applications and services with us in Microsoft Azure, there are often no license costs associated with the running of your solution as they are covered by our own service plan agreements, keeping it really simple for you.
https://assemblysoft.com/skills/microsoft-cloud
Database
What type of database to use is an important decision when developing a web application. ASP.NET applications can use all of the popular databases, including Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, SQLite, Postgres, MongoDB, NoSQL and many others. While Microsoft SQL Server can require expensive software licenses for complex deployments, the free Express version is suitable for the vast majority of websites. All of the other databases mentioned here are free and open source.
Our team is experienced at working out the most cost efficient and performant database requirements for your business. We can migrate your existing database to Azure and ensure your database can scale when your traffic increases.
Windows, Linux, macOS, and Docker
ASP.NET apps can be developed and run on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Docker.
The Visual Studio family of products has tools for building .NET apps on any operating system. There are also command-line tools and extensions for many popular editors.
Open-source
Like the rest of .NET, ASP.NET is open source on GitHub.
Over 60,000 developers and 3,700 companies already contributing.
Active community
Even though ASP.NET is open source and free to use, it is actively developed and supported by the world’s largest software company, Microsoft. Microsoft is heavily invested in their development platforms, their developer community, and supporting the software companies use to run these applications. This means you don’t need to worry about your software becoming yesterday’s news any time soon.
Assemblysoft are active members of the .NET Foundation. Come and join us in one of our community user group meetups.
Read More: https://www.assemblysoft.com/community
Complete Freedom
ASP.NET can work alongside any existing technologies. You also have complete control over the design and layout of your frontend, enabling each website and service to look and feel completely unique.
In Summary
ASP.NET is a great framework to use when developing web sites, services and web applications. It is reliable, fast and backed by a great community. ASP.NET gives you full control over your development and can be used on any project, big or small.
By using ASP.NET you are not constrained by bloated scripts, themes and unnecessary templates because you decide exactly what goes into your site build. This results in Google and other popular search engines ranking your site above other sites when you demonstrate a fast loading application, adhering to best practices.
If you aren’t already using ASP.NET, why not give it a shot?
Here at Assemblysoft we are .NET and ASP.NET specialists. Reach out and see how we can help you develop or maintain your ASP.NET projects.
References
At Assemblysoft we specialise in Custom Software Development tailored to your requirements. We can onboard and add value to your business rapidly. We are an experienced Full-stack development team able to provide specific technical expertise or manage your project requirements end to end. We specialise in the Microsoft cloud and .NET Solutions and Services. Our developers are Microsoft Certified. We have real-world experience developing .NET applications and Azure Services for a large array of business domains. If you would like some assistance with Azure | Azure DevOps Services | Blazor Development | .NET MAUI Development or in need of custom software development, from an experienced development team in the United Kingdom, then please get in touch, we would love to add immediate value to your business.
Assemblysoft - Your Safe Pair of Hands