Understanding Web Apps vs. APIs in .NET


What is the.NET Framework, and what is it supposed to do?

What is the.NET Framework, and what is it supposed to do?

It is a collection of software development tools and frameworks that allows for the creation of various services and features.

This Framework has many application models, and its versatility has only increased since its launch. Many open-sourced frameworks are available, but many prefer.NET due to the benefits it offers.

More information will follow.

Anyone looking to create software tools may want to first look at this Microsoft product. This does not mean that the.NET Microsoft framework can be perfect.

It is important to remember that there are many disadvantages to this software development framework.


The History of the.NET Framework

The History of the.NET Framework

The dot net Framework developed almost two decades ago, in the mid-90s. Its premise was very different from what it is today.

The concept of "managed code" was the basis of the idea. It is source code that developers can execute while in a runtime environment.

This was necessary due to the inefficiency of previous coding platforms and processes in providing flexible and secure experiences.

These issues can be addressed by the.NET Framework. Active memory management is also addressed. It also addressed minor issues when working with C or C++.

The launch of.NET Framework took place in 2002 when the C# The programming language was first introduced. The C++ programming language was very similar, making the transition easier for developers while offering extra benefits.

C# was designed more specifically for the Microsoft Windows ecosystem. It offered the GUI desktop application library WinForm and the web framework ASP.NET.

ADO.NET was also available. Common Language Runtime (CLR) was also a key component of the entire application operation.

It allowed for the compilation and execution of managed code.

These functions would only work better if the.NET Framework class library (FCL) were included. The FCL includes the base class library (BCL) and other libraries that include a network library and a numeric one.

However, this was the first release of the.NET Framework. The.NET Framework, a closed-loop environment restricted in its use and intended purpose, existed for ten years.

It meant developers had to be limited in what they could do with it, especially considering the broader development industry that does not necessarily include Microsoft's products or platforms.

Concerning developers using different operating systems and libraries, concerns arose about adaptability and ease of use.

Fortunately, Microsoft made many key announcements and modifications to its.NET Framework in 2014. This announcement made headlines because it announced that the.NET Framework would be available on all platforms.

Developers could now create web-based applications on different platforms.

It was also made open-source, which allowed developers to modify the code base. Developers who wanted to avoid learning two terms would not have to deal with this.

They made.NET Framework open source, which meant that developers could work with it more efficiently, faster, and took less time.

Microsoft also purchased Xamarin, a cross-platform proprietary technology for mobile application development, in 2016; Microsoft then integrated it into the greater.NET Framework, making it open-source.

This made the platform more flexible and expanded its ecosystem. Slowly, the ASP.Net Application Development Company began to roll out open-source platforms.

This included Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Forms, and WinUI frameworks. Microsoft united all these tools into a bundle called the.NET five platforms in 2019.

This bundle allows developers to create apps for all major OS platforms using the most recent.NET Framework.


The.NET Framework Ecosystem

The.NET Framework Ecosystem

It is worth noting many aspects of the greater.NET platform. These include the.NET Framework and.NET Core. Each comes with its subsystem.

Nevertheless, the.NET Framework ecosystem is only a little important. There are three applications models worth considering:

  1. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).
  2. Windows Forms.
  3. NET Forms.

WPF - The WPF is a user interface tool that allows you to create interactive applications using the.NET Framework.

It's excellent for any application. It is only intended for Windows OS and desktop apps. It can be used for other purposes, however.

Windows Forms - Great for creating applications with impressive graphics that are easy to update, maintain, and deploy, Windows Forms is part of the.NET Framework GUI Library.

This is incompatible with all platforms and is intended for desktop use, just like the WPF.

ASP.NET Forms - What are ASP forms? ASP.NET forms are more flexible than the others. It is designed for beautiful web applications that can be customized to your needs and secure them.

Its key feature is the Common Language Runtime, which allows you to run code in different languages independently under the.NET umbrella.

It is responsible for code safety, memory security, and other aspects. This is an excellent option for creating web applications and Hire ASP .Net Developers Team.

There is also the Base Class Library. This is the Framework Class Library core for the.NET Framework. It provides the standard functionality of the Framework and closely works with the Common Language Runtime.

To make the most of asp net, it is helpful to understand what it is and how it works. The latest version of the ASP.NET Framework, ASP.NET Core, is primarily intended to run on the.NET Core platform.

ASP.NET Core is a free, open-source cross-platform framework that allows you to create cloud-based apps such as web apps and IoT apps. Based on builtwith, we are aware of 5,343,158 active ASP.NET websites and another 31,107,704 sites from the past.

It can be used locally or in the cloud. Similar to.NET Core, it was designed modularly with minimal overhead. This allows for high performance, less memory and a smaller deployment.

It is also easy to maintain. ASP.NET Core, an open-source framework that Microsoft supports and the community, can be downloaded from Githubs ASP.NET Core repository.

ASP.NET Core 3. x is only compatible with .NET Core 3. x. ASP.NET Core 2.0 works on.NET Core 2. x and.NET Framework.

Many developers need clarification about when to use Web API. MVC framework can return JSON data using JSON Results and handle simple AJAX requests.

I explained in the previous article the differences between Web API and Web API, WCF REST and Web Service.

Also, when Web API is preferred over other services, this article will explain when you can use Web API with MVC.

Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!


Asp.Net Web API Vs. Asp.Net Web MVC

Asp.Net Web API Vs. Asp.Net Web MVC

Asp.Net MVC is a tool that can be used for creating web apps that provide data and views. Asp.Net Web API makes it easy to quickly create a fully-fledged HTTP service that returns views and data.

Web API allows you to create REST-ful services using the.NET Framework. It also supports content negotiation (it's all about deciding on the best format data for the client).

This could be JSON, XML, ATOM or any other formatted data.

Self-hosting is also possible, which is impossible with MVC.

Web API can also provide data in a specific format such as JSON or XML based on the Accept header. This is not something you need to worry about.

JsonResult is the only method to access data from MVC. Web API maps the request and the actions based upon HTTP verbs, while MVC maps it back to the action names.

Asp.Net Web API is a new framework which is part of Core ASP.NET framework.

Web API features like model binding, filtering and routing are not available in MVC. These features are available in the new system.Web.Http.

In MVC, these features exist within.System.Web.Mvc Hence Web API can also be used with Asp.Net and as a stand-alone service layer.

You can combine Web API with an MVC controller in a single program to handle complex AJAX requests. This allows you to build a fully-featured HTTP service.

This is commonly called Web API self-hosting. If you mix MVC with a Web API controller and want to implement authorization, you must create two filters-one for MVC and one for Web API.

Web API is lightweight architecture and can be used with any smartphone app except for the web application.


Why ASP.NET Core?

Why ASP.NET Core?
  1. Supports Multiple Platforms: ASP.NET Core apps can be run on Windows, Linux and Mac. You don't have to create different apps for different platforms with different frameworks.
  2. Fast: ASP.NET Core no longer relies on System.Web.dll to communicate with the browser. ASP.NET Core lets us include the packages we need to run our application. This helps reduce the request pipeline, improves performance, and allows scalability.
  3. IoC Container: This container includes the IoC container that allows for automatic dependency injection, making it easy to maintain and test.
  4. Integration With Modern UI Frameworks: This allows you to use and maintain modern UI frameworks like Umber, Bootstrap or ReactJS. Bower is a web package manager.
  5. Hosting: The ASP.NET Core website application can be hosted on multiple web servers such as Apache, IIS and Apache. It does not depend on IIS but can be hosted on any platform with any web server, such as Apache or IIS.
  6. Code Sharing: This allows you to create a class library compatible with other.NET frameworks like.NET Framework 4. x and Mono. A single code base can be shared between frameworks.
  7. Side-by-Side App Versioning: ASP.NET Core is based on.NET Core. This allows multiple versions of an application to run at the same time.
  8. A Smaller Deployment Footprint: ASP.NET Core runs on.NET Core which is smaller than full.NET Framework. The deployment footprint of an application that uses only a portion of.NET CoreFX is smaller. This decreases the deployment footprint.

Read More: Java for Web Application Development: Here's Everything You Need to Know 2023


What Is The Asp.Net Life Cycle, And How Does It Work?

What Is The Asp.Net Life Cycle, And How Does It Work?

There are a series of steps that must be followed when an ASP.Net app is launched. These steps form the application's lifecycle.

Let's look at the different stages of the ASP.Net Web Application page lifecycle.

  1. Application Start - The lifecycle of an ASP.NET Application begins when a request from a user is made. This request is made to the ASP.Net Application Web server. This is when the first user visits the home page of the application. The web server executes a method called Application_start during this time. This method usually sets all global variables to their default values.
  1. Object Creation - The next stage is to create the HttpContext and HttpRequest by the web server. The HttpContext contains the HttpRequest & HttpResponse object. HttpRequest contains information about the current request. This includes browser information and cookies. The HttpResponse objects contain the client's response.
  1. HttpApplication Creation - This object is created and maintained by the web server. This object is what is used to process every subsequent request to the application. Let's say we have two web applications. One application is a shopping cart, while the other is news. We would need 2 HttpApplication objects for each application.Each HttpApplication would process any additional requests to each website.
  1. Dispose Of - is an event that is called before the application instance has been destroyed. This is a time when you can manually release unmanaged resources.
  2. Application End - This is the last part of the application. This is the final part of the application.

What Is The Asp.Net Page Lifecycle?

What Is The Asp.Net Page Lifecycle?

Each ASP.Net page goes through a specific lifecycle when it is called. This happens before the user receives the response.

The processing of an ASP.Net webpage requires a series of steps.

Let's take a look at the different stages of the lifecycle for an ASP.Net website page.

  1. Page Request - This is the first time the page has been requested by the server. The server verifies that the page has been requested for the first time it is. If it is, the server will compile the page and parse the reply before sending it to the user. If the page is not requested for the first time, the cache is checked to ensure that the page output is still available. If it is, the response is sent to the user.
  2. Page Start - At this point, two objects are created, the Response and Request objects. The Request object holds all information sent to the page request. The Response object holds the information that is returned to the user.
  3. Page Initiation - During this time, all controls on a webpage are initialized. If you have labels, textboxes, or other controls on a web page, they all get initialized.
  4. Page Load - This is the time the page loads with all default values. If a textbox has a default value, it is loaded during page load time.
  5. Validation - Sometimes, there may be some validation on the form. A validation could say that a list box must have a particular set of values. The condition should not be false. If it is, the page will be loaded incorrectly.
  6. Postback Event Handling - This event is triggered when the same page is loaded again. This is triggered by an earlier event. Sometimes a user may click on the submit button. The same page will be displayed again in this situation. In this case, it is called the Postback Event handler.
  7. Page Rendering - This occurs just before the user receives all of the response information. The form information is saved and sent to the user as a complete webpage.
  8. Unload - ASP.NET Web Development forms objects can be deleted from memory once the page output has been sent to the user. Unloading is the process of removing any unwanted objects from your memory.

The Pros and Cons of .NET Development

The Pros and Cons of .NET Development

Many developers use the.NET Framework and the entire.NET family for many reasons. It does have its drawbacks, but they are worth mentioning.

To learn more, you can refer to the following pros and cons.


Pros

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): One of the greatest things about .NET (OOP) is its object-oriented programming (OOP).

This allows developers to work on each piece of software individually by breaking it down into smaller pieces. After completing one piece, developers can move on to the next.

Once all of the pieces have been completed, it is possible to combine them and manage them more efficiently.

Great Caching System: NETs caching system makes it simple and dependable to store temporary data.

It enables developers to customize the cache implementation, allowing them to improve performance and scale to meet their specific requirements.

Visual Studio: Visual Studio, Integrated Development Environment, is part of.NET. This tool allows developers to create and debug applications across multiple platforms and OS without any hassle.

Cross-Platform Development: Although it wasn't available at the time it was launched,.NET is now a cross-platform platform implementation that can be used for applications on different OS.

It will collaborate with developers who use various programming compatible languages. Open-source means developers can modify it as often as they like.

Simple to Install and Maintain

With the.NET family, it is easy to deploy applications and maintain them. Its modular design pattern allows developers to literally disassemble applications, fix or update them, and then put them back together again.

It is not necessary to go through a lot of scripts in order to find the one that is causing everything to go haywire.

Universal .NET Standard: The.NET Standard was introduced in 2016 and allowed developers to develop applications that use the.NET family without having to redevelop them for every platform.

The huge class library contains almost all the functions developers could need. This is useful for real projects that involve rendering graphics or interacting with databases.

XML documents are now much easier to manipulate.

Large Community: Although the.NET has built a large community since its launch, it wasn't until it was made open source by Microsoft that it truly exploded.

The development framework was already a major influence due to its widespread use. Now, it's even bigger.

Automatic Monitoring with ASP.NET: It is possible for something to go wrong during the coding process, and you either don't notice it or it is too late.

ASP.NETs automatic monitoring feature will notify you if an infinite loop occurs. You will also be notified if there are memory leaks or any other problems.


Cons

Object Relational Support Issues: The Entity Framework is what makes object-relational programming (OOP) of.NET possible.

Concerns have been raised about the flexibility of the Framework in relation to new database designs, as it may not be able to support them.

Vendor Lock-in: Unfortunately, the.NET bundle falls under Microsoft. Any changes or limitations the company may impose on projects that are built under the Framework will be reflected in the project.

Developers will be less in control.

Licensing Costs: Licensing fees can add up for many aspects of the Net family. The more complex the project, the more costly it will be.

Visual Studio, for example, can run you around $539.00 per year.

Stability Issues in New Releases: Documentation and support may be lacking when a company launches new features or updates.

This can cause instability in development projects.

Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!


Conclusion

Although .NET Framework has its problems, we believe it offers a lot to developers or hire coders for projects who want to create cross-platform apps.

This system will be easier to use if you know the differences between.net and core. There is no longer a distinction between MVC and Web APIs in ASP.NET Core.

Only ASP.NET Core is available, which includes support for view-based scenarios, API endpoints, Razor Pages, health checks, SignalR, and other features.

ASP.NET Core APIs are much easier to test than ASP.NET Web API 2 APIs because they are consistent and unified within ASP.NET Core.


References

  1. 🔗 Google scholar
  2. 🔗 Wikipedia
  3. 🔗 NyTimes