Asp.Net Core Tutorial

Asp.Net Core vs Asp.Net

ASP.NET Core and ASP.NET (often referred to as ASP.NET Framework) are both web application frameworks developed by Microsoft for building web applications and services using the C# programming language. While they serve similar purposes, there are significant differences between the two frameworks. In simple words, ASP.NET Core is a significant redesign of ASP.NET. Lets see the differences first.
Here's a comparison of ASP.NET Core and ASP.NET Framework:

  1. Cross-Platform Compatibility:
    • ASP.NET Core: Designed to be cross-platform, running on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Primarily designed for Windows, although it can run on Linux and macOS using Mono or compatibility layers like .NET Framework Compatibility Pack.
  2. Modularity:
    • ASP.NET Core: Built with a modular architecture, allowing developers to include only the necessary components for their applications.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Monolithic framework with dependencies on the Windows operating system, making it less modular.
  3. Performance:
    • ASP.NET Core: Optimized for performance, offering faster response times, lower memory consumption, and better scalability.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Generally slower and less efficient compared to ASP.NET Core, especially in terms of performance on non-Windows platforms.
  4. Dependency Injection:
    • ASP.NET Core: Includes built-in support for dependency injection, promoting loose coupling and testability.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Dependency injection is available through third-party libraries or frameworks like Unity or Ninject.
  5. Hosting Model:
    • ASP.NET Core: Supports multiple hosting models, including self-hosting, IIS (Internet Information Services), and Docker containers.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Primarily hosted on IIS, although it can be self-hosted in some scenarios.
  6. .NET Standard Compatibility:
    • ASP.NET Core: Implements .NET Standard, allowing it to run on any platform that supports .NET Standard.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Targets the full .NET Framework, limiting its compatibility to Windows-based platforms.
  7. Enhancements and New Features:
    • ASP.NET Core: Continuously updated with new features and enhancements, benefiting from community contributions and regular releases.
    • ASP.NET Framework: Receives fewer updates and enhancements compared to ASP.NET Core, with most new features introduced in ASP.NET Core.
  8. Tooling:
    • ASP.NET Core: Includes modern tooling with support for cross-platform development using Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, and command-line interface (CLI).
    • ASP.NET Framework: Development is primarily done using Visual Studio on Windows.
In Conclusion, ASP.NET Core is the modern, cross-platform successor to ASP.NET Framework, which offers improved performance, modularity, and flexibility for building web applications and services. It's recommended for new development projects, especially those targeting non-Windows platforms or requiring high-performance and scalability. However, ASP.NET Framework remains a viable option for existing applications and projects heavily tied to the Windows ecosystem. And if any team wants to upgrade the version from Asp,net to Asp.net Core - that is also viable which we will discuss in later chapters.