.NET is one of the most popular platforms for online application development. According to popular website Builtwith.com, ASP.NET + MVC.NET + AJAX.NET occupy almost 40% of the market. This means that the technology from Microsoft dominates the web application market. This is not necessarily surprising, since a variety of different tools and frameworks found in .NET-based software gives you vast capabilities at various levels of complexity. From creating simple and fast web pages to the development of high-performance REST based APIs for huge corporate systems, .NET is a powerful, multipurpose tool.
Why choose Microsoft’s .NET technology?
There are a number of reasons why developers and customers are choosing .NET technology for application development. Microsoft’s longstanding history of stability and support is perhaps one of the most important. Knowing that long-term perspectives and continuing technical support exist are strong motivators for choosing .NET in today’s rapidly changing tech environment.
Furthermore, Microsoft has created a large number of convenient tools for .NET development, testing and documentation. This infrastructure helps system developers, managers and architects work rapidly and comfortably towards project completion. It also helps the customer, which receives a large number of applications and tools for control of the development process and the quality of the final product.
The fact that these tools exist in a single ensemble, and are often integrated into the crown of creation of Microsoft – Visual Studio further simplifies development. Because of Visual Studio’s popularity it is often easy to find experts to start or continue a project in the face of team turnover. The stability of both trained developers and the platform itself make using .NET a smart investment.
Trends in the development of web technologies in .NET
Although .NET and Microsoft both have a long and stable history, one shouldn’t assume that it’s static. In fact, the platform is constantly evolving. One of the most innovative technologies is the combination of MVC.NET and AJAX.NET. While not as widespread as ASP.NET, it is a worthy substitute. Through it, developers are able to conveniently introduce mass changes without some of the fundamental problems of the previous system.
An additional recent innovation was the introduction of ASP.NET 5. This technology is devoid of all excess from the .NET stack. It allows for building modern Web applications from scratch, and provides an optimized platform for developing applications for deployment either in the cloud or on in-house server. Additionally, to support flexibility in building solutions, this platform consists of modular components with minimal overhead.
ASP.NET 5 includes the following features:
- New flexible and cross-platform runtime
- New modular conveyor for HTTP-requests
- Configuration ready to use in the cloud
- The unified programming model that combines MVC, Web API and Web Pages
- Ability to see the changes without re-building the project
- Using multiple versions of the .NET Framework side-by-side
- Ability to self-hosting or hosting on IIS
- New tools in Visual Studio 2015
- Open source in GitHub
Cross Compatibility?
One of the common misconceptions about .NET is a lack of cross-platform support. However, this is not true. .NET will work on all operating systems where possible to install the .NET Framework, from large windows based servers to the Windows Phone.
However, Microsoft has been aggressively developing solutions to integrate .NET applications into other (non-Windows) operating systems. For over 10 years, Mono has successfully provided a free platform for cross-environment .NET development.
But recent developments imply that the new format of .NET Core 1.0, ASP.NET Core 1.0 and Entity Framework Core 1.0, will be available on not only on Windows, but also on OS X (Apple) and Linux!
.NET Core is truly a cross-platform, open source, and modular .NET platform for creating modern web apps, microservices, libraries and console applications. It will significantly expand the scope of the .NET technology in the coming years.
Analysis and Development of Enterprise Solutions using .NET technologies
One of the main advantages of .NET technologies is its extraordinary flexibility in developing and connecting various components without complex integrations. This ease of use makes successful implementation in the enterprise far less complicated and costly, and directly improves its popularity, particularly for development of large enterprise systems.
What else attracts customers and corporate systems developers?
- Most Enterprise solutions are long-term projects. Because Microsoft guarantees stability and development of .NET technologies, it allows you to plan the development of an information system over the long term, without fear of losing support shortly thereafter.
- A large set of quality and convenient extensions that allow developers to exhort the optimization and code quality control.
- The presence of high-quality documentation and tools to create and maintain documentation of your product.
- All of the modern .NET technologies involve compiling code. As a result, the final solution can be packed and delivered in the compiled version without source code.
- Code Analysis and Security Check – provided by a variety of existing solutions and plug-ins – eliminates many errors and vulnerabilities.
How to avoid mistakes when choosing .NET technology
Like all development projects, there is always a risk when when support becomes complicated and code uncomfortable for developers. This often happens due to a misunderstanding of .NET operating principles in the design of information systems.
First, it should be remembered that .NET is strictly object-oriented. Developers and other professionals who work with applications must have the skills and understanding of the work with the PLO.
Second, consider whether the project is right for .NET. For example, CMS applications developed on .NET are not as popular and convenient as one developed on PHP. Small simple sites should be developed on smaller, simpler technologies. Save .NET for large enterprise systems that require it’s complexity and capabilities.
Finally, it is critical to use the most updated version of the selected .NET technology. Updating solutions allows developers to use the latest innovations, and facilitate the transition from one version to the new one. Rejection of the renovation will lead to the inevitable obsolescence of the technologies used, and as a result of the obsolescence of the information system itself. This in turn leads to higher costs for maintenance and development of new versions.
Conclusion
Much like mathematical problems, development projects can have many appropriate solutions. As a result, choosing a technology for a new product should be guided by needs analysis, including system architecture requirements and resource availability. .NET Technologies have an established track record of successful solutions that allow you to build a variety of information systems for diverse business purposes. Development of a quality product is a combination of architecture + technology. .NET has everything you need to build quality software.