Balancing The Pros and Cons of .NET Development

Posted by Narola Infotech LLP on September 14th, 2021

The .NET development platform might sound like a simple single-dimensioned environment, but it is anything but that! In reality, .NET has a multitude of frameworks, tools, and models that cumulatively form an ideal software development ecosystem that will work in your favor! 

Take a closer look at .NET and the pros associated with it. 

What Does the .NET Development Platform Contain? 

The .NET development platform is comprised of four main components:

1. .NET Framework

2. .NET Core

3. Xamarin

4. Universal Windows Platform 

In addition to this, these components contain their own libraries and frameworks. 

.NET Framework

The .NET framework remains the first application offered by this technology and it has three programming models:

• Windows Forms 

• ASP.NET

• Windows Presentation Foundation

Windows Forms

This is a tool within the .NET framework used to create rich graphics in an application. Windows forms GUI enables the development of graphics that are easy to deploy and update.  

ASP.NET

The ASP.NET environment differs from the other two since it caters to the development of dynamic, creative, more complex applications.

Windows Presentation Foundation

The Windows Presentation Foundation specializes in creating user interfaces for desktop applications using Windows OS. It makes good use of Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML).

.NET Core

To offer improved functionality and productivity, .NET Core was released. Its cross-platform support is much appreciated since it caters exactly to your needs of developing software that is not restricted to Windows operating systems.

ASP.NET Core 

A better version of the .NET Core framework is the ASP.NET Core that allows better mobile back-end development, web apps, and even other services. 

Xamarin

Xamarin started off as a proprietary product and was later acquired by Microsoft. This component is used to develop mobile applications and macOS programs. Developers who choose C# web development as their first choice will be pleased to know that an application written in C# can run on multiple devices, regardless of what OS they run. 

.NET Standard

It was only a matter of time before the .NET framework programming ecosystem was unified to let investors benefit from all the development models. .NET standard did this and more. This move rendered NET development much more efficient as applications did not have to be rewritten for each platform, the huge class library plays a part in making this possible. 

Common Language Runtime 

The .NET environment must include a virtual machine called the Common Language Runtime (CLR), its role is to manage memory, security, verifies and executes threads and code, basically, it is responsible for managing your .NET code! 

Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

Suppose you want to develop an application that runs on more than just a desktop and tablet? This is where the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is the best solution. Using this technology, you can even have applications developed for an Xbox, Surface Hub, or IoT devices! 

Pros Of .NET

Initially, .NET may not have looked like the best option for software development, but the founding developers found a way to overturn this decision and get on track with its competitors. Here are the benefits of using .Net:

Object-Oriented Programming Model

The object-oriented programming model compartmentalizes data into objects, this automatically breaks down an application into smaller parts which makes it generally easier to manage, test, and scale. 

With .NET, your developers are given the opportunity to work on certain parts of the application at a time. Once this portion of the application is complete, they can move on to the next part of the application.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Cross-platform compatibility is important for applications these days. Although .NET was not initially a cross-platform framework, things changed with the arrival of the .NET Core. 

Thanks to .NET Core any code written using this technology will run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Ideally, this means that the code of one application can successfully run on multiple desktops regardless of the operating system they run! 

This feature allows you to save money by not having to spend money developing the same app several times so that it can be run on several different platforms. 

Stable and Reliable Technology

Having been around for almost 20 years does naturally surround the.NET technology with a lot of positivity and trust that it is capable of handling your project. For a businessman investing in software for his own company, just any technology will not do!

At least with .NET, you are guaranteed a reliable and stable technology with which your software is bound to be reliable as well.  

Easy and Flexible Maintenance 

When an issue arises in a program, getting a developer to fix the problem is tough since bugs usually come with the idea that the developer will have to check the entire code from start to finish! 

But with .NET luckily this is not the case. Because of the flexibility and tools offered by the .NET development platform developers are able to separate the parts of an application, identify and fix the error, and then put the respective application parts back together. 

Visual Studio IDE

The presence of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) provides a developer with all the tools required for writing and testing code. Because of the IDE, using .NET will lower the time and cost of developing your project. 

This is great news seeing as writing, testing, and debugging code will be easier. Since Visual Studio IDE comes integrated into .NET, the following advantages are observed: 

• The Studio IDE comes with a collaborative tool that facilitates real-time collaboration on a single codebase and codebase reviews

• The Visual Studio allows developers to customize the environment to match their requirements, further helping them to efficiently complete a project in time

• In-built debugging and compiling capabilities exist in the .NET IDE 

Large Community

Not many mature technologies can boast of accumulating and retaining a large community! .NET has managed to do it, providing you with a lot of validity of proof as to why .NET development should be at the top of your options list. 

But this means more than just it has a high popularity. It means that you are very likely to get excellent .NET developers to work on your project. Meaning regardless of how complex and sophisticated your app is, you will always be able to find an appropriately skilled developer. 

.NET is Microsoft Developed and Supported

Being developed by Microsoft is another reason why .NET will catch your attention. Microsoft is an esteemed name and anything they develop is bound to be worth it! There is another reason as well, updates and sound support are reinforcing reasons to choose NET development for your software. 

Conclusion

.NET has done well to continuously evolve its programming models over the years. Its biggest upgrade to date has been introducing cross-platform running capabilities as well as making the .NET environment open-sourced.