Understanding ASP.NET to Build Scalable Web Apps

Introduction to ASP.Net

ASP.NET is a free web framework for creating high-performance websites and web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as Web APIs using real-time technologies like Web Sockets. ASP.NET offers three frameworks which are stable and mature, allowing creating great web applications, irrespective of the framework you select and you will get the benefits and features of ASP.NET everywhere.

The framework represents a different development style. The framework you opt for depends on several factors of programming assets such as knowledge, skill level, and development experience, type of application created, approach you’re comfortable with and ASP.Net web development company you partner with.

1. Web Forms
2. ASP.NET MVC
3. ASP.NET Web Pages

Web Forms

ASP.NET Web Forms allows to build dynamic websites with drag-and-drop, event-driven model. A design surface as well as hundreds of controls and components lets you quickly build highly sophisticated, powerful UI-driven sites with data access.

MVC

ASP.NET MVC, a patterns-based way to build dynamic websites which provide a clean separation of concerns and control over markup particularly for agile development. There are many benefits to using an Agile development  process. ASP.NET MVC includes several features for fast, TDD-friendly development in order to create a sophisticated application according based on the latest standards in web development.

ASP.NET Web Pages

ASP.NET Web Pages and the Razor syntax provide approachable and lightweight way to combine server code with HTML for dynamic web content. Several features such as linking to social networking sites, connecting to databases and videos help create beautiful sites that meet the latest standards.

All three ASP.NET frameworks are based on the .NET Framework and share core functionality of .NET and of ASP.NET. For instance, these three frameworks provide a login security model based around membership. Furthermore, they share the same facilities for managing requests, handling sessions which form part of the core ASP.NET features.

In addition, the three frameworks are not independent, and choosing one does not preclude using another. Very often individual components of applications are written using different frameworks as these three frameworks can coexist in same application.

It is not uncommon to see customer-facing portions of an app built in MVC to optimize the markup. On the other hand, the data access and administrative portions are developed in Web Forms to leverage data controls and simple data access.

Selecting between .NET Core and .NET Framework for Server Apps

ASP.NET Core is an alternative to ASP.NET. There are supported implementations for building server-side applications with .NET:

• .NET Framework  
• .NET Core

With several similar components, you can share code across the two. However, there are several fundamental differences between the two and it is important to make the choice between the two based on what you plan to accomplish and objectives.

Here are use case scenarios  

1. Use .NET Core for your server application:

• Cross-platform needs
• Targeting microservices
• Use Docker containers
• High-performance and scalable systems
• Side-by-side .NET versions per application

2. Use .NET Framework for your server application:

• Instead of migrating it is better to extend (recommended if your app uses .Net framework)
• Third-party .NET libraries or NuGet packages in use (options not available for .NET Core.)
• Use of .NET technologies which are not available for .NET Core.
• Your app uses a platform that’s not supported by .NET Core.

Web APIs

ASP.NET Web API makes it easy and simple to build HTTP services that reach a variety of clients, including browsers and mobile devices. ASP.NET Web API is the most suitable platform for building RESTful applications on the .NET Framework.

Real-time Technologies

ASP.NET SignalR is a library for ASP.NET developers allowing incorporating real-time web functionality much easier. SignalR lets bi-directional communication between server and client. Servers can push content to connected clients instantly based on its availability.

Mobile Apps and Sites

ASP.NET can empower native mobile apps with a Web API back end, as well as mobile web sites using responsive design frameworks. If you are creating a native mobile app, it’s easy to create a JSON-based Web API to handle data access, authentication and push notifications for your application.

Related Post: Web Development Best Practices

Use .NET technologies not available for .NET Core

Few .NET Framework technologies aren’t available in .NET Core or available in later releases. Others don’t apply to the new application patterns which are targeted by .NET Core and may not be available.

Here is the list that shows the most common technologies not found in .NET Core:

• ASP.NET Web Forms applications: ASP.NET Web Forms are available only in the .NET Framework. ASP.NET Core cannot be used for ASP.NET Web Forms and there are no plans to provide ASP.NET Web Form to .NET Core.
• ASP.NET Web Pages applications: ASP.NET Web Pages aren’t included in ASP.NET Core.
• WCF services implementation. Even when there’s a WCF-Client library to consume WCF services from .NET Core, WCF server implementation is currently available in the .NET Framework. However, is being for .NET Core for the future.

Build high-performance and scalable systems

When the need is for performance and scalability, .NET Core and ASP.NET Core are the most feasible options. High-performance server runtime for Windows Server and Linux makes .NET a top performing web framework. Performance and scalability are most important for microservices architectures several hundreds of microservices may be functional at any given time. With ASP.NET Core, systems run with less servers/Virtual Machines (VM). The reduced servers/VMs save cost and resources in terms of infrastructure and hosting.

Side by side of .NET Versions per Application Level

To install applications with dependencies on different versions of .NET, the use of .NET Core is highly recommended. .NET Core provides side-by-side installation of different versions of the .NET Core runtime on the same machine. Side-by-side installation allows multiple services on the same server, lowering risks and saving money in costs associated with upgrades and IT operations.

Conclusion

ASP.NET is a programming framework used to create enterprise-class web sites, web applications, and technologies leading to efficient information management. Be it a website for midsize business or large corporate web applications across different networks, it is important to Hire ASP.NET Developers to access all the features to grow and scale to the next level.