All About ASP.NET

What is ASP.NET? 

ASP.NET is a web application development platform that includes a programming model, a comprehensive software infrastructure, and a variety of services for creating robust and data driven web applications for PCs and mobile devices. It operates on top of the HTTP protocol, utilizing HTTP commands and policies to establish browser-to-server communication and cooperation.

ASP.NET is a component of the Microsoft.Net platform. ASP.NET applications are compiled codes written with the .Net framework's extensible and reusable components or objects. These codes can use the entire class hierarchy in the .Net framework.

ASP.NET History 

Its initial release, ASP.NET 1.0, was on January 5, 2002, after four years of development and multiple beta releases in 2000 and 2001. Because of these beta releases, dozens of books about ASP.NET were written before version 1.0 was even released.

Following its release, Microsoft heavily promoted it, putting Scott Guthrie in charge of further development of the framework. He oversaw the release of ASP.NET 1.1 on April 24, 2003, which improved support for mobile clients.

ASP.NET Core has replaced ASP.NET. It makes the framework modular, allowing it to be used alongside technology such as the Entity Framework. In addition, this change unites ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, and ASP Web Pages under the banner of ASP.NET Core.

Why ASP.NET?

Because of its high speed, low cost, and extensive language support, ASP.NET is advantageous for web developers. This developer platform also requires very little setup and configuration, with developers able to download it in as little as five minutes with no prerequisites. As a result, websites and applications that are built with ASP.NET are faster and more efficient than building web pages with PHP and other frameworks.

ASP.NET compiles code and converts it to object code for faster execution than interpreted code. When using interpreted code, such as PHP, the user may need to execute the file before they can find and fix any errors. ASP.NET detects errors during compilation, allowing programmers to resolve coding issues quickly. As a result of this, many companies look to hire skilled ASP.NET developers.

What Does an ASP.NET Developer Do? 

An ASP.NET software developer is a programmer who specializes in creating software for Microsoft's Windows platform. They use programming languages compatible with Microsoft's .NET framework, such as VB.NET, C# (C sharp), and F# (F sharp).

The SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) is a process used by ASP.NET developers that consist of six stages: analysis, design, development and testing, implementation, documentation, and evaluation. They work in teams at software development companies or in the IT departments of a wide range of technology-driven organizations and interact with computers daily. They may also work as independent contractors for a variety of clients.

The main ASP.NET tasks that developers perform are as follows:

• Software design, business logic implementation, and development.
• Existing problem analysis and identification or development of system requirements.
• Interface and component design.
• Creating .NET applications.
• Management of various-sized software projects.
• Provide help to the support team.

How to Become a .NET Framework Developer? 

Previously, a .NET Developer was in charge of designing, developing, and customizing software for the Microsoft Windows platform. However, with the introduction of ASP.NET, .NET developers are building web apps that run on platforms other than Windows, such as macOS and Linux. The following are the steps to becoming an ASP.NET developer:

Gain Fundamental Knowledge of the Basic Tools and Features

To become an ASP. developer, you must understand the fundamentals of .NET Core, .NET Standard, .NET Framework, and Xamarin. It gives you a sense of what the ASP.NET Core platform is all about. It also helps you understand the various career paths for .NET developers.

An example of a fundamental concept would be server controls, hidden fields, server side components, http handlers, and base class.

Learn Programming Languages Like HTML, Python, Java, JavaScript, and PHP

Because these languages are used in most desktop, mobile, and web forms, every developer must be familiar with them. Because .NET is a multilingual platform, you can pick a language and learn it. If you still need formal programming training, numerous online resources are available. Continue to practice by following a step by step tutorial until you have mastered the language of your choice.

Learn C#

ASP.NET developers widely use C# to create a wide range of applications, primarily desktop and web forms. Therefore, every ASP developer must be familiar with the C# programming language. It is also the simplest programming language; you can learn it in three months.

Choose a Specialization

Since ASP.NET development allows developers to create desktop, website, and mobile applications, specialization determines the jobs you can apply for later.

Advantages of ASP.NET

Microsoft is constantly improving ASP.NET with new features, which is why businesses should use it as soon as possible.

Easy Accessibility

Because ASP.NET is an open-source platform, it is widely available. Furthermore, it is free, making it easier for small businesses to thrive in the digital environment.

Scalability

The developers vouch for its scalability and flexibility because the .Net supports a wide range of programming languages that can be used to meet web development needs. ASP.NET can also be used for building web apps that are cross-platform because it is well-supported by popular operating systems such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. Furthermore, it can be integrated into popular web frameworks such as Bower, NPM, and others.

Easy to Use

This is one of the many reasons why this framework is so popular among developers. ASP.NET is simple to use and does not require complex web development configurations. The dot net framework is also free of redundant and complex codes, making development even easier.

Data Security

Because the entire web development configuration is cloud-based, all changes are saved online. In addition, although ASP.NET is vulnerable to code injection attacks, developers can secure it with Windows-guaranteed authentication.

Saves Time 

It's easy to set up ASP.NET. With the help of compiler platforms such as 'Roselyn,' the feature-rich framework saves significant time. The latest ASP.NET 5 includes features that improve HTTP performance while lowering overhead costs. One of the reasons is that developers do not have to spend time registering components, which saves time.

Installation of ASP.NET

To install ASP.NET, you will first need to download and install Visual Studio, which Microsoft developed for GUI development. Visual Basic makes it easy to create and set ASP applications.

Download VS Community

Download the latest version of VS Community from Microsoft's official website. Once downloaded, install the IDE by running the .exe file on your system.

Install the ASP.NET Package

To install ASP.NET, select ASP.NET and web development in the Workloads tab option. Next, click install in the bottom right corner. Additionally, you can select the .NET desktop development option for creating windows forms and console applications. You can modify the installations later.

Components of .NET and ASP.NET

The .NET platform is compatible with all major computer operating systems and includes editors and tools developers can use to create various applications. In addition, the ASP.NET framework includes additional features such as an multi factor authentication system and editor extensions.

The main components of the .NET platform include:

• Languages and compilers: include C#, VB.NET, and J#.
• Base libraries for working with strings, date files, and so on: The .NET framework includes a collection of standard class libraries. Developers commonly use web libraries specifically for building web applications.
• Editors and development tools: .NET programs include a variety of editors and tools that are cross-platform compatible.
• Common Language Runtime (CLR): The Common Language Infrastructure, which is also a platform, runs all .NET programs. CLR is used by all .NET programs to perform key tasks such as exception handling and garbage collection.

The components of the ASP.NET framework include:

• Authentication System: An authentication system consists of libraries, a database, and user login template web pages. Multilayer authentication and external authentication tools are also available for social media websites and other websites that allow users to log in externally.
• A fundamental framework for handling web requests: A web server in the ASP.NET Core framework evaluates C# code written by web developers and send HTML page code to the user. JavaScript is used to write client-side code.
• Code behind mode: VS Community separates the design and coding of web pages by creating separate files for each. An ASP.NET file's general file type is .aspx, and the file type that contains the web page's coding is .aspx.cs.
• Editor Extensions: Some examples of editor extensions include Syntax highlighting, code completion, and other features to aid web developers.
• Common web pattern libraries: Model View Controller is a popular library.
• Razor: Razor is the webpage templating Syntax that web developers will use to create dynamic webpages in C#.
• State management: State management refers to remembering an application's current state. Because HTTP is a stateless protocol, extra coding is required to carry a user-initiated transaction from one webpage to the next. This is a feature of ASP.
• Caching: Caching is the process by which a computer temporarily stores pages to improve an application's performance. Caches promote faster retrieval of user page requests and provide more efficient responses.

Development Best Practices for building web apps

Naming Convention

IT is a best practice to always adhere to a consistent set of naming guidelines and standards, which should cover everything from declaring a variable to the structure of a stored procedure.

Use the Foreach loop

Start using a foreach loop instead of a for loop. This will simplify your code and make it more readable.

Only use a for loop when an index is required.

public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            char[] aspArr = {'A',' S', 'P','.', 'N', 'E', 'T'};

            foreach(char alph in aspArr)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(alph);
            }
        }

Minimize Allocating Large Objects in Hot Code Paths

By automatically allocating and releasing memory in ASP.NET Core applications, the garbage collector aids in memory management. The CPU, on the other hand, takes a long time to remove unreferenced objects. The performance of ASP web applications will suffer as a result. As a result, web developers should limit the allocation of large objects in hot code paths.

Avoid Blocking Calls in Web Server

Because of blocking calls, ASP.NET Core web forms frequently have poor performance. A large number of synchronous blocking calls causes Thread Pool starvation and degraded response times.

Some Other Best Practices of Net Core

You can try to follow some of the following practices:

• Try avoiding blocking asynchronous execution by calling Task.Wait or Task.Result.
• Asynchronize all hot code paths.
• If an async API is available, call data access, I/O, and long-running operations APIs asynchronously. However, avoid using Task. Run this command to convert a synchronous API to an asynchronous API.
• Optimize data access and I/O.