Here's Everything You Need To Know About ASP.NET

So, how can you learn ASP.NET? Learning code has never been easier. You don't have to attend college or spend four years to get a university degree to be able to build applications. While you can learn ASP.NET on your own, it's advisable to join reputable institutions or bootcamp providers. With our online and in-person coding bootcamp, you can learn ASP.NET in just 13 weeks or less, gain hands-on skills, and be ready for the job market.

Please read on to learn more about ASP.NET, what it is, what it's used for, ASP.NET Core, and the benefits of learning ASP.NET.

What is ASP.NET?

 ASP.NET is an open-source web development platform comprising tools, programming languages, and libraries for building web apps on Microsoft's .NET Framework using various programming languages, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We can further view it as a subset or an extension of the .NET Framework with additional tools and libraries specifically designed for developing stuff on the web, including web applications and websites. It's built to work with the standard HTTP protocol, which is the standard protocol used across all web applications.

Microsoft made ASP.NET succeed the classic ASP (Active Server Pages), Microsoft's first server-side scripting language and engine for dynamic web pages, by offering developers more flexibility and robustness. Classic ASP, the first version, was released in January 2002

While the .NET Framework is used to build a variety of applications and services for Windows, Linus, macOS, Web, and Console, ASP.NET is only used to develop web apps and services on Windows. ASP.NET also allows you to build web APIs and utilize real-time technologies like Web sockets.

NB: ASP.NET is not a programming language. It's a platform with web tools, libraries, and programming languages that enables you to build web applications and services.

ASP.NET Library

The ASP.NET library consists of the base libraries from the .NET Framework and libraries for common and frequently used web patterns. The Model View Controller (MVC) is a perfect example of the common ASP.NET libraries that allows you to use the MVC design pattern to design web apps and services. With the MVC, you can build web applications composed of three roles: a business layer, a displayer layer, and input control. MVC also enables you to build dynamic websites due to its capacity for fast development.

Common Language Runtime

The Common Language Runtime (CLR) is the engine that runs the ASP.NET Framework, allowing programmers to execute its code using any .NET Framework language. It's the run-time environment in the .NET Framework that's responsible for managing the execution of .NET programs. CLR provides a managed execution environment for running managed code by enhancing security and allowing cross-language integration and interoperability.

Additional Components

Apart from programming languages, CLR, and libraries, ASP.NET also has additional features such as Razor to make web development much more effortless. Razor is a markup templating syntax that allows you to embed server-based code into dynamic web pages. You can also use Microsoft Visual Studio as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to effectively develop and execute web applications.

ASP.NET also has an authentication system that includes libraries and templates for logging, thus security purposes. This system comprises multi-factor and external authentications with various platforms such as Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more.

What's New with ASP.NET?

Before Microsoft released the first .NET Framework version in 2002, developers used Classic ASP to develop web applications, web services, and websites. Thus, it's correct to say that ASP.NET 1.0 was released in 2002 with the first version of the .NET Framework.

The table below shows the ASP.NET versions history:

Table 1: History of ASP.NET Versions

The advancements keep rolling. In 2015, ASP.NET version 5 RC1 came and was separated from ASP.NET. In 2016, Microsoft turned to a new project called ASP.NET Core Version. It was meant to replace ASP.NET with cross-platform capabilities, meaning it can run on various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and Docker. We'll look at ASP.NET Core in detail later in this article.

While Microsoft still supports ASP.NET, the main focus is on ASP.NET Core. Besides its cross-platform capabilities, ASP.NET Core also merges ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, and ASP.NET Web Pages into MVC 6, giving developers higher performance and more flexibility. These additions make ASP.NET a better and more stable platform for running web apps and websites smoothly.

What is ASP.NET Used For?

ASP.NET enables you to build web apps, websites, and web services on the .NET Framework. It has tools and libraries designed specifically for developing dynamic web apps and websites.  

You can create web applications and websites in ASP.NET using any of the three frameworks: Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC, and ASP.Net Web Pages. While each framework targets a different development style, they all give the full ASP.NET features and benefits.

Web Forms

ASP.NET Web Forms allows you to build dynamic websites using an easy-to-use drag-and-drop, event-driven model. There is a design surface with multiple controls and components that enable you to develop sophisticated and robust UI-driven websites with data access quickly.

ASP.NET Model View Controller (MVC)

ASP.NET Model View Controller (MVC) provides a robust, patterns-based way of building dynamic websites and web apps using the latest web standards. The MVC lets you separate concerns and gives you complete control over markup for enjoyable and flexible development.

ASP.NET Web Pages

ASP.NET Web Pages and the Razor syntax enable you to combine server code with HTML to create dynamic web content. You can also easily and quickly connect to databases, add videos, and link to social networks to create appealing and interactive websites that meet the latest web standards.

Why ASP.NET?

ASP.NET extends the .NET Framework with tools and libraries that make web apps and sites development easier and faster with several other advantages:

• Net is fast, scalable, and performs faster than other popular frameworks in the independent TechEmpower benchmarks.
• Since ASP.NET supports industry-standard authentication protocols, you can build secure web apps without worrying about cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).
• You can write backend code for data access and any logic in C# and Visual Basic using ASP.NET.
• NET, Razor, and Blazor enable you to develop dynamic pages and interactive Web UIs with C# instead of JavaScript.
• Cross-platform operability. It's possible to build and execute ASP.NET apps on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Docker.
• You can add simple real-time web and bi-directional communication between server and client to your ASP.NET apps using SignalR.

What is ASP.NET Core?

In 2016, Microsoft introduced ASP.NET Core with interoperability and cross-platform capabilities. Thus, developers can run their web apps on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Docker.

ASP.NET Core is an open-source, cross-platform framework that enables developers to build modern, cloud-based web apps on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It's a redesign or enhancement of ASP.NET 4.x. that comes with various benefits such as dependency injection, high performance, and side-by-side versioning. You can learn more about the benefits of ASP.NET Core here.

Learn and Become a Competent ASP.NET Developer With Sabio

Learning code can prove exhausting, especially if you don't have the right help. You can choose to educate yourself, which might not be as easy as it may sound. Besides self-education, you can attend a college or university and get a certificate or degree. But, that's time-consuming and doesn't match your work schedule. You don't have to spend years in school to learn code.

At Sabio, you can learn ASP.NET in just 13 weeks or less. All you have to do is register for our Full Stack .NET Framework Course. We'll equip you with sufficient skills in client-side frameworks, database architecture, APIs, Tools, and soft skills to ready you for that career change or advancement.

Please don't contact us today to get started or schedule a meeting.

Common ASP.NET FAQs

• What is ASP.NET, and what is it used for?

It's an open-source web development platform for building web apps on Microsoft's .NET Framework.

• Is ASP.NET a programming language?

No, ASP.NET is not a programming language. It's just a development platform where developers can develop web apps and sites using various programming languages.

• Is ASP.NET different from .NET Framework?

Yes and No. ASP.NET is an extension of the .NET Framework with tools and libraries specifically designed for developing web apps, websites, and web content.

• What programming languages with which I can build web apps on ASP.NET?

You can build various web apps on ASP.NET using various programming languages, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.