Developing web apps with ASP.Net. Things to keep in mind before starting

ASP .Net the flagship product from Microsoft: Microsoft, the giant of IT industry has shown its potential to the industry through different breakthroughs. ASP .Net is yet another breakthrough from Microsoft to help the industry in developing enterprise standard web applications on the fly. Well, framework means performance, optimisation and enhanced security with beautiful output. Hence a web developer used to rely on any of the frameworks to develop quality web solutions for the users. ASP .Net is one of the most powerful and large web frameworks of the industry having a tremendous track record for more than a decade. From the beginning, it has received continuous support and love from the industry among the web developers. It is often treated as most powerful and comprehensive web framework of the industry that enables asp .net developer to develop scalable and testable web applications.

Why do companies outsource their .Net development work to India?

Business outsourcing has increasingly emerged as one of the growing and the most well-known of the numerous business sectors in India. Outsourcing as a growing industry has chiefly been observed in the IT sector of the country.

There a number of companies in India that have mature teams with proven expertise in .Net programming and are supported by a strong structure along with a highly professional approach to Software project management that basically guarantee an on-time as well as a within the budget delivery of the software projects. Indian companies provide some of the highly reliable ASP.NET development services that are also priced most competitively on this planet.

Why to Update Applications to .Net Development Platform?

Along with making it open source and cross-platform, Microsoft further made .Net platform available to Linux and Mac programmers. The open source version of the platform includes .Net Core Runtime, Framework and Libraries, along with ASP.Net and .Net compilers. Both Windows and non-Windows developers can now use the platform to build and manage software applications across multiple devices and operating systems. There are also a number of reasons why enterprise must consider updating their applications to .Net 2015 development platform.

Features of ASP.Net vNext that will wow you

Yet another breakthrough from Microsoft: After ruling more than a decade through its flagship product asp.net, this time Microsoft came up with a new framework which can make you say wow with its first look. This new product is asp.net vNext. It is developed considering the future demand in mind by the efficient team from Microsoft. A web developer can develop an enterprise standard futuristic advanced web application using vNext in less time and more accuracy. Hence tech experts are accepting this as a breakthrough from Microsoft to make a clear path for the future. Let us have a brief look over its awesome features.

It’s Open Source! Yes you heard it correctly. The Microsoft’s asp.net vNext is an open source micro framework for the asp.net developers. Open source means a developer can modify its source code as per his requirement. So now we can develop web projects without the need of visual studio. Moreover, the asp.net vNext is available on Github. So we can expect a better support as well.

vNext is micro yet efficient: Thought vNext is micro in size but it is extremely efficient in developing enterprise standard web applications for future. It can produce responsive web applications which are not only eye catchy but also light weight. Moreover due to small size this needs less memory for both development process as well as execution of the application. This framework is extremely optimized considering the future web browsing devices like smart phones and tablets in mind. Hence we can say though it is tinny in size but its dynamite in performance.

vNext is compatible with Cloud: We all know the importance of cloud service for the future generation web applications. Every web developer or asp.net developer must learn to integrate cloud support in their application making it fit for future. Cloud support helps in developing light weight yet efficient web applications for modern hand held computers like smart phones and tablets. Due to light weight, asp.net web developers can give you better user experience without compromising on the quality of the application.

vNext can produce cross platform apps: Microsoft sought loudly while introducing asp.net vNext that “Mobile first, Cloud first”. From this we can easily guess what vNext is aiming for. VNext is to develop industry standard mobile web applications which can run on different platforms. Asp.net developers can now produce single app which can give the same user experience in different platforms like windows, MAC or Linux. Moreover web developers can produce cross platform smart phone apps for Android and IOS along with windows operating system.

No need to build, every time you made change: Unlike ASP .net framework, the vNext framework does not require the asp.net developers to build the application after change made by the developer. Now web developers can simply modified the code on the IDE and they can view the effect just by refreshing the browser without any need of build. This helps in preventing the irritating behaviour of asp.net framework for the web developer.

The same charm of .Net still exists: Just imagine an asp.net application which needs just 10% of the framework and for that the developers have to install the whole framework. This is nothing but waste of time, effort and memory. To prevent this peculiar situation, asp.net vNext comes with a tiny package with all those necessary features of asp.net with addition of few futuristic features to help the developer in developing modern web applications. At the same time it doesn’t take away that awesome charm of asp.net while you are projected to the new vNext environment.

You can hire developers from top asp.net development companies in India who can help you build web applications according to your ideas within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide .net development services. If you would like to hire certified .net developers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Patterns in ASP.Net Development That Developers Should Know

As an open source web development framework, ASP.Net is used widely for creating a wide range of websites, web applications and web services. The server side web application development framework was originally designed by Microsoft as the successor to Active Server Pages (ASP) technology. But Microsoft is updating and improving ASP.Net consistently to convert it into a modular and modern web development framework. Many reports have highlighted how Microsoft is emphasizing more on design patterns. So it becomes essential for web developers to know the formal and informal patterns in ASP.Net.

ASP.Net with MVC framework better than ASP.Net - Why?

The ASP.NET methodology has come a long way since its inception. This framework enabled the developers to create various kinds of web forms, especially, the .aspx pages. The developers could now actually separate the business logic from the presentation. This allows each code to be modified easily. Nowadays, however, the .NET developers have more than one option while creating their web projects - the all new ASP.NET MVC and the old and proven ASP.NET web forms. It has been a growing trend among the developers to opt for the ASP.NET MVC for making significant changes in an existing website and for green field development.

Here are a few reasons why the developers are opting for the latest dot NET framework:

Using ASP.Net to Develop a Mobile Friendly Website

A constant increase is being noted in the number of people accessing websites on their smartphones, tablets, and phablets. So it has becomes essential for web developers to optimize the look, feel and performance of websites for different types of mobile devices. Microsoft has upgraded ASP.Net with a set of features that makes it easier for developers to create mobile friendly websites within a shorter span of time. If you are planning to build mobile friendly websites using ASP.Net, it is time to understand its features relevant for your project.

ASP.Net Features that Effectuate Mobile Friendly Website Development

Mobile Web Server Controls

You have option to create mobile web pages directly from the MobilePage base class. After creating the pages, you can add mobile web server controls from the System.Web.Mobile namespace. The .NET Framework provides several adapters that support these mobile web server controls. As most of these controls adhere to unified adapter architecture, they will behave differently based on the requesting device. Thus, it becomes easier to create mobile version of websites by targeting different mobile devices.

ASP.Net Mobile Controls
While developing a mobile friendly website, developers often have to write lengthy and complex code. But ASP.Net allows you to avoid writing additional code by creating mobile pages using Visual Studio. Like ASP.Net Web server controls, you have option to use several mobile controls to accomplish specific tasks without putting any extra effort. You can optimize the mobile version of a website by using controls like Calendar, AdRotator, Image, Link, MobilePage, ObjectList, TextBox, TextView and Form. The data submitted by the users can also be authenticated using controls like CompareValidator, CustomValidator, RangeValidator, RegularExpressionValidator, and RequiredFieldValidator.

Browser Detection Support
Both ASP.Net Web Forms and MVC are designed with built-in browser detection support. So you can use the properties of Request.Browser object to identify the characteristics of requesting mobile device. Along with the manufacturer and model of the mobile devices, these properties can also be used to identify their screen size, supported media and data formats, and input methods, i.e., keypad, touch or joystick. The option to identify the features of the requesting device will help you optimizing the mobile version of a website for new mobile devices.

Option to Keep Website Content Unaltered
Normally, the web pages are designed for large desktop-sized screens. Also, most users access these websites through fixed-line broadband connections. So many operators alter the content of web pages dynamically through proxy servers to make them the content relevant for mobile devices. When the HTML markup or CSS is altered by operators, it will have a huge impact on user experience. ASP.Net enables you to keep your website content unaltered by simply by using the Response.Cache.SetNoTransforms() method. The methods can also be used while creating mobile friendly websites using ASP.Net Web Forms and MVC.

Maintaining Sessions without Using Cookies
Unlike web browsers, most mobile devices do not support cookies. So developers find it daunting to save information about a particular user session across multiple requests. Normally, ASP.NET locates the user session across server round trips through an identifier. The identifier is stored by the ASP.NET session object through client-side cookies. However, ASP.Net allows developers to capture the session ID, and redirect the user to a new URL that contains the session ID. You can simply configure the session state to store ID in session state without relying on cookies.

You also have option to use the System.Web.Mobile namespace provided by ASP.NET to create mobile friendly websites without putting any extra effort. The mobile web server controls further makes it easier for you to create web pages supported by a variety of mobile devices. On the whole, ASP.Net comes with a set of features to meet the most recent trends in mobile friendly website development.

You can hire developers from top asp.net web development companies in India who can help you build web applications according to your ideas within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide .net application development services. If you would like to hire .net developers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

What makes .Net more preferable than PHP?

PHP or Hypertext Preprocessor was originally a scripting tool which due to its large developer community and easy learn
ing curve, took over the internet by storm in a short matter of time. This free tool has a huge number of frameworks that can simplify web development. Microsoft developed ASP.NET so that developers can take advantage of an easy scripting tool to build web applications as well as pages. This ASP’s successor can be coded by using any of the languages that is .NET supported, making it really popular amongst the developers. Now, when it comes to selecting the language we face a huge dilemma about which one to choose from these two. Given below are some sections and how both software fare in those categories.

Scalability along with maintenance- In this respect, there can be no winners as both are equally scalable. In fact, how easy the maintenance as well as scalability becomes, is dependent on the experience of the programmer, proper standards as well as guidelines for programming being followed, which programming practices along with frameworks are being used, etc.

Costs- This is one section where PHP is the clear winner since it is totally free. When using the Microsoft product, some costs are associated like you have to have Windows as the development can be made on Windows machine only; Windows hosting along with IDE or Integrated Development Environment is also required. For example Visual Studio is the most popularly used IDE. Beginners do not have to shell out specifically to use .NET. However, those who have upgraded to professional stages need Visual Studio and such other tools which may turn out to be expensive. However, the free PHP running on Linux web hosting may be used on Linux, Mac or Windows. A number of paid as well as free IDEs support it.

Speed as well as performance- In most cases, this subject has been the topic of much debate. The debates often come as biased so that one language can be promoted over the other. When you measure the speed of a web application there are plenty of factors to keep in mind. So, most often programming languages do not have any specific or noticeable effect on the performance as well as speed. However, when enormous tasks need to be performed then some factors should be considered before making the big decision to choose the software that is best suited for the scenario. In some respects, PHP performs slightly better than .NET but the effect is quite marginal.

Availability of editors along with tools- PHP developers mostly prefer to use text editors such as Notepad++ and Vim, instead of full-fledged IDE. But those who prefer to use IDE can find solid support in free editors such as Eclipse. Most IDEs also supported ASP.NET but Visual Studio is the most preferred one. In fact, the features as well as benefits offered by using Visual Studio is the most pronounced.

Portability- Both office along with web applications may use .NET framework but PHP works only on the web. However, you can insert as well as run JAVA code within it through Java JRE installation on webserver which may prove to be cumbersome.

Language support- A vast variety of development languages are supported by .NET. However, only JAVA and PHP language itself are supported by PHP.

Web services- In this category also .NET is definitely most preferred over PHP since the best features are available in this language for the building of useful web services. In fact, the entire building process is also really simple when compared to other present frameworks.

Security- The framework integrated with effective security mechanism to save many programming makes ASP.NET framework again more preferable.

There are individual advantages to both the above mentioned frameworks and the ultimate decision should be made after careful consideration of the individual requirements. However, when it comes to building of multi-featured applications, ASP.NET framework gains a slight edge over PHP. If you are willing to incur some initial costs then you will be left with an application that has a plethora of features along with zero security concern.

You can hire developers from top custom .net development company in India who can help you build web applications according to your ideas within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide asp.net development services. If you would like to hire expert asp.net developers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Some Of The Best ASP.Net CMS's With Their Features

A Content Management System can be defined as a computer program, that is designed to allow editing, publishing, modification along with maintenance from a centralized interface. These content management systems provide various procedures that come in handy while managing the workflow in a definite collaborative environment.

You will find a lot of ASP.Net CMSs which are astoundingly useful as well as user friendly. Let us discuss a few of them along with the features they come up with.

DNN (DotNetNuke)

DNN or DotNetNuke as it was previously known as, is an extensible, scalable, open source as well as secured Content Management System that powers innumerable websites all over the world. DNN today is one of the most adored, popular and acceptable open source Content Management System, that is based on Microsoft.NET. This particular platform is designed to be used as a CMS as well as an ASF or Application Development Framework. The platform can also be used for creating and deploying modular and interactive sites or web application quickly, without much hassle whatsoever. The application is mature and stable, and is extremely easy to install. It has a strong community and it gives the users a wide number of options for plug-ins along with the themes.

Umbraco

It is a fully-featured Open source Content Management System that has the flexibility to run the smaller campaigns, or brochure sites through various complex applications that are designated for some of the best Fortune 500 companies and the most famous media sites. This CMS is quite easy to learn or use. All these features make it one of the perfect CMSs, when it comes to web designing or developing web sites along with creating content. It is user-friendly, easily customizable, robust and fit for running on even the largest or the most complex sites. The modern User Interface that the CMS comes up with, its pure .NET architecture and its active community make it one of the best web CMSs. It supports MVC as well as WebForms, it is open source and contains options of paid support as well as add-ons.

MojoPortal

This is another extensible, user-friendly, fully featured as well as mobile friendly CMS as well as WAF or Web Application Framework, that is written in C# ASP.NET. It comes up with blogs, forums, Google/Bing Maps, Contact Form, Calendar, Polls, Newsletters, e-commerce, surveys and a lot more. It supports MS SQL 2005/08/AqlAzure, MySQL, etc. So far as the development of customized applications is concerned, this is one of the most preferred CMSs as it has the ability to behave like a starter kit for the more advanced .NET sites along with portals. It is also considered to be the strongest standalone CMS. It is user-friendly and is easy to be learned – a fact that makes it so much adored. Its strong community is also a notable feature. This makes troubleshooting less cumbersome as well as simple.

Kentico

This ASP.NET CMS comes up with a free version that needs a site to display the logo of Kentico. However, the paid version, which is also termed as the premium version is designed to remove the ads as well as offers and this offers an extra tinge of functionality to the CMS. When it comes to the beginners, this is one of the best CMSs, with some astounding support for e-commerce as well as social sharing.

It is actually an Enterprise Web CMS that is designed with the objective of providing a comprehensive feature set that can be used to build intranets, websites, e-commerce solutions, community sites, various types of marketing animations, multi-site management etc. The CMS can be designed to have as many as 70 modules along with 400 configurable web parts as well as source codes to meet the customized needs of the clients. It is this flexibility that makes the CMS so much popular.

Another user-friendly feature of this CMS is its highly configurable platform, which can easily be modified as well as extended to meet the clients' requirements. All the pages of this CMS are properly organized in the form of tree hierarchy. This makes the platform, user-friendly, thus helping the small as well as the enterprise level sites to handle the CMS alike, without any problem whatsoever.

You can hire developers from top custom asp.net development companies in India who can help you build web applications according to your ideas within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide .net application development services. If you would like to hire .net developers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Best ASP.Net eCommerce Platform to Set up Web Stores

The right web store can boost the online sales and revenue of your business. But you also need to optimize the look, feel, performance and security of the eCommerce portal to beat competition. Microsoft has developed ASP.NET as a server-side web application development framework that helps programmers in building robust internet applications on time and on budget. Your business can avail several benefits by building the web store with ASP.NET. However, you must choose the right ASP.NET ecommerce platform to set up the web stores without investing any additional time and effort.

7 Widely Used ASP.NET eCommerce Platforms to Set up Web Stores

1) AspDotNetStorefront
You have option to choose from the Express, Enterprise or Professional version of AspDotNetStorefront according to your needs and budget. Each version of the ecommerce platform is designed with features that enable your business to own assets, accommodate needs and integrate information. You can further customize the look and feel of the online store completely, while changing skins in the real time. It also comes with shopping cart software that supports HTML, XML and AJAX. You have further option to access the source code written in VB.NET and C#. However, the framework does not provide any WYSIWYG editor.

2) AspxCommerce
Despite being an open source ASP.NET ecommerce solution, AspxCommerce allows businesses to design, configure, customize and manage their web stores. If you have already installed a web script, the platform will allow you to setup and launch a fully functional online store within a short span of time. Along with being easy to use and customize, AspxCommerce comes with the tools and features required to create and manage web stores without hiring an experienced web developer.

3) nopCommerce
The open source shopping cart enables businesses to setup web stores without any hassle and delay. You can use the pluggable modular/layered architecture provided by the framework to create robust online stores within a shorter time span. While running the ecommerce solution, the architecture further enables you to dynamically add additional functionality and presentation elements. The platform supports mobile commerce, multiple stores, multiple vendors, payment features, tax features and customer service.

4) Multifront Ecommerce Software
The zNode ecommerce platform is used by many large companies to power their online business and deliver richer user experience. In addition to designing, configuring and setting up a web store, you can also use the ASP.NET ecommerce platform to scale the site as your business grows. You also have option to fully customize the key aspects of the platform like operations, administrations, search and customer experience. At the same time, the solution can also be integrated seamlessly with your existing ERP and back-office systems.

5) Aivea Commerce Server
You can choose from the single-store, multi-store or hosted edition of the Aivea Commerce Server (ACS). But each version of the ASP.NET ecommerce platform is designed with over 5,000 documented features, and built-in integration with Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP. In addition to supporting multiple stores, languages and currencies, the platform further comes with a set of feature required for B2C, B2B, B2E and B2G ecommerce. You can avail these features to connect with individual customers by delivering personalized eCommerce experiences.

6) VevoCart
The ecommerce software solution is available in both free and commercial editions. VevoCart comes with a responsive design that is compatible with a variety of devices including desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets and phablets. So you are not required to make the web store compatible with various devices. At the same time, the framework comes with an ASP.NET PA-DSS compliant eCommerce payment application. It also provides a set of tools that makes it easier for you to carry out marketing campaigns.

7) Magelia WebStore
Microsoft also offers several ecommerce platforms that come with the built-in features required to set up web stores. The service-based approach of Magelia WebStore allows businesses to set up robust and scalable web stores without putting any extra effort. Along with supporting multiple languages and currencies, the framework further allows you to easily generate useful objects like product variants, bundles, categories and catalogues. Also, you can use the features to define multiple shipping options, discounts and taxes.

In addition to these widely used frameworks, you also have option to choose from a variety of open source and commercial ASP.NET ecommerce platforms. However, you must evaluate the features and tools provided by each platform to choose the most effective framework to set up the web store.

You can hire developers from top custom asp.net development companies in India who can help you build web applications according to your ideas within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide .net application development services. If you would like to hire .net developers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Building Modern Web Apps with ASP.Net

ASP.NET is often considered as ASP or Active Server Pages' next version but it is more than that. A unified model for web development is provided by the platform which includes necessary services that can aid developers in the building of web applications. ASP.NET and ASP are quite syntax compatible and new programming infrastructure as well as model is provided by the former so that stable as well as scalable applications may be developed which will also provide better protection. So this ..NET based compiled environment helps in authoring of applications in any kind of language that is .NET compatible including .NET, Visual Basic, JScript .NET and C#.

ASP.NET applications can be built with the aid of XML Web Services or Web Forms or in combination with both. The very same infrastructure supports both and you can customize the application’s configuration or use authentication schemes. Windows XP Professional, 2000 and Server 2003 family supports the framework in case of both server as well as client applications. You also need some other software for the development of the server applications like

• Advanced Server or Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 2, any of the family of Windows Server 2003, Windows 64-bit edition or XP Professional
• Internet Information Services or IIS
• MDAC 2.7 for Data.

In fact before distributing the application IIS roles as well as ASP.NET must be enabled. For deployment of such applications first a root directory must be created; then directory structure must be created under the root so that the application files may be contained. The app files then should be copied to the directory structure.

Root directory for ASP.NET application with IIS- For this a new directory has to be created and then the MMC or Microsoft Management Console must be opened for IIS. Then simply a virtual directory must be created. Then the root directory has to be marked as an application. The process of virtual directory creation is almost the same across the different platforms. You just have to make adjustments to the settings and follow the procedure as it runs. Even in case when you want to mark existing directories as web applications you need to open the MMC and adjust the properties.

Creating directory structure- For this open the created root directory at Windows Explorer or command prompt. Create new directory, naming it bin. Other directories, if required by the app can be created. The directory called bin is the app's default assembly cache. For modifications in the app's default configuration, web.config file can be created as well as required modifications made to save in root directory.

Deploying app files from command line- Click Start, then Run. There will be a dialog box of Run which will have a Open text box. Enter cmd there and press OK. Type a command with destination path and source path. If you get questions about the copying directory or files, answer them.

This is also a good framework for the building of responsive and modern web apps, especially if you want your app to load single HTML pages and then update the page dynamically while users interact with the application then SPAS or Single Page Applications may be used as well. HTML5 as well as AJAX are used by SPAs for the creation of responsive as well as fluid apps. This can be easily created with the help of open source JavaScript based frameworks. For that create Visual Studio Project, Service Layer, Web Client, MVVM and MVC patterns, web client with help of Knockout.js and view model one after the other. Data bindings must be done; records must be made editable.

ASP.NET helps you reap the maximum advantages of features like inheritance, type safety, versioning as well as language interoperability. In fact the existing ASP applications can be augmented through addition of this functionality.

You can hire programmers from top custom .net development company who can help you build dynamic web portals within allocated budget and time schedules.

We provide .net application development services. If you would like to hire dot net programmers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Everything a .Net Developer Wants to Know about VS2013

The Visual Studio 2013 has been incorporated with a number of brand new features with the intention of enhancing the productivity of this integrated development environment. The features, some of which are absolutely new and others- extensions of the productivity power tools- are meant to save time and efforts on part of the developers too. Now, using the VS2013 and deriving the maximum benefits out of it requires the .net developers to stay aware of certain aspects of this development environment introduced by Microsoft.

Here is a thorough overview of the features that have been newly introduced and that the developers should be aware of:

Introduction of CodeLens

CodeLens is often considered to be one of the best features introduced in the Visual Studio in the last few years. Being an altogether new feature, CodeLens demands the developers to learn about it in details. CodeLens can be enabled from the options dialog while one can also enable specific information offered by this innovative feature. Useful information including that of the reference counter is aligned with the code editor. Now, each of the class contains information such as that of the reference number, code changes, test methods, time changes and so on. It has to be remembered in this respect that the CodeLens can also be combined with the CodeMap for more effective use.

Enhancement of the Scrollbar

The enhanced scrollbar has now been made a part of the Visual Studio 2013. This feature, which had initially come up as a popular productivity power tool extension, provides developers with visual cues about the file on the vertical scrollbar. The scrollbar markers, on the other hand, allows viewing of the location of errors, bookmarks, breakpoints, warning and so on right on the file. The idea is to make information easily accessible for all as, one does not need to move away from the present position to gather information about the various other parts of the files.

Incorporation of Peek Definition

Clicking on some type brings the developers to a new option, called 'Peek Definition' and this offers them with another window while also displaying information about the chosen type. The incorporation of the Peek Definition was with the purpose of letting the developers stay in context of the respective codes even at the time of browsing through definitions.

The feature saves a lot of time as, the developers can now go through the definitions without losing track of the particular code, on which they happen to be working at the moment. You are also not required to leave the original file. The Peek View in the VS2013 is read only although attempts are being made to enable editing of this feature too.

Auto Brace Complete Option

The auto brace complete feature enables automatic addition of quotes, braces, brackets and closing parenthesis just as the developer types the code in the Editor. The auto brace complete option is yet another feature that worked as the productivity power tool and is now included in the VS2013. Alongside, specialized completions for the various languages like C++ and so on have also been added.

While the above-mentioned ones are the features that the developers must be conscious about when it comes to using the VS2013, there are few more that adds to the efficiency of the integrated development environment. These are

• JavaScript navigational dropdowns
• EcmaScript 6 Support
• New HTML editor
• Browser link
• URL rewrite intellisense in web.config
• Open sourcing web essentials
• Few CSS/Less trics

Keeping all these features in mind certainly would help developers during .Net web development.

We provide asp.net application development services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our certified .net developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Difference betweeen WebForms and MVC – CodeProject

ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET WebForms are the two existing essential development models that highly contribute to the technology enhancement of today's hi-tech era. Both these models have some pros as well as cons which will be discussed here in the light of comparison.

What are WebForms?

ASP.NET WebForms were first brought out by Microsoft from ASP. It solved a number of problems by creating abstraction of higher level over simulated stateful model and stateless web for web developers.

• WebForms introduce applications like self postback (post to same page form data) or ViewState (during postbacks maintain control values).
• The most interesting part lies in the fact it is not required to even a single line of code. With the emergence of Web Forms, Microsoft attempted to bring forth the Visual Basic model into web.

What is MVC?

For sometimes now the concept of MVC has been around after Microsoft introduced it. It is actually an architectural pattern and including Java it is also used by a number of developers. ASP.NET MVC is an important model required for web applications and this pattern is a solution to a context related problem. This application offers input logic, UI logic and business logic. It allows you to develop an application loosely coupled between each of such elements.

The main purpose of this pattern includes separation of concerns. It makes UI ignorant or presentation of user interaction and business logic. According to this pattern, system is divided as Model (M), View (V) and Controller (C).

• Model, considered as smart is meant to handle the logic or data as well as Business rules and will remain independent of the other MVC parts like Controller or View.
• In short, controller receives as well as dispatches the request while handling the user interaction or input logic. It knows everything about View or Model.
• A view is regarded as dumb and it is the output representation of a model data. It can be a web page or an excel sheet, showing just a simple text or list of records. View only knows about Model.

Difference between WebForms and MVC

Here are some of the very basic differences between these two major applications responsible for website development.

• WebForms use the page controller approach for the purpose of rendering a layout. Whereas, MVC offers a model which has no connection with the View, hence it becomes easier to maintain or test the applications.
• For all the pages, Web Forms use the front controller pattern in order to process the web application requests. It is also used to generate routing architecture. Where as, MVC has the View which is called before the controller that is used to provide the View, based on the action as there is interaction between user and the interface.
• Web Forms use the server based controls along with view state for managing the state of the model. MVC does not record state information unlike Web Forms.
• WebForms are basically event driven whereas, MVC is test driven.
• In case the development team is small, Webforms are mostly preferred for Rapid application development. MVC is best suited for larger project where more priority is given to testability or maintainability.
• It is easy to learn Webforms development in comparison to MVC development.

Irreplaceable depending on certain requirements

ASP.NET MVC or ASP.NET WebForms, each could be the best choice for any particular solution. Depending on the requisites of an application along with the background of the team professionals involved, both the technology can serve the best purpose for your business prospective. Hence, one application can never replace the other.

You can hire developers from top .net application development companies in India who can help you build ASP.NET applications within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide .net development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert asp.net developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

6 ASP.NET Performance and Scalability Secrets

As a powerful web application development framework, ASP.NET is hugely popular among developers across the world. Microsoft also help platform in becoming mature by updating it regularly with fresh and extended features. The innovative features provided by ASP.NET4.5 enable developers to build and manage a variety of high-performance and highly scalable web application at a rapid pace. However, each developer also needs to learn some simple tricks that can boost the performance and scalability of the web application. The combination of advanced features and simple changes will make it easier for programmers to build web applications that become popular by optimizing user experience.

6 Simple Tricks to Boost the Performance and Scalability of ASP.NET Applications

1. System.net Configuration: The system.net is configured by default to allow two concurrent connections per each IP. So the web server can make only two concurrent calls while making outbound call to a specific server or calling WCF service on another server. The default number of concurrent connections is too low to support the requirements of distributed web applications, as the web server has make service call to other services frequently. Similar to the web application, the number of connection will also have an adverse effect in using web services. So you must change the system.net configuration at the machine.config or web.config to optimize the performance of your ASP.NET application.

2. WCF Default Configuration: By default, the WCF configuration allows only 16 concurrent calls per each service. Also, the default number of concurrent calls is reduced to 10, if you are using sessions and wsHttpBinding. So the default number is not adequate to meet the needs of popular and high-traffic websites. You have to exceed the default limit by defining an increased value for maxConcurrentCalls, maxConcurrentInstances and maxConcurrentSessions according to the requirements of your web application. Also, you need to use InstancePerContext.PerCall set to ensure that each request is handled by creating a new instance of the service.

3. Process Model Configuration: The process level properties of an ASP.NET application is defined in Process Model configuration. The configuration defines the number of thread used by the application, the number of request to keep in waiting, and the duration of blocking a thread before timing it out. As the default value of each process level of property, it may affect the scalability and performance of your web application. So you must reset the default values for maxWorkerThreads, maxIOThreads, minWorkerThreads, minIOThreads, memoryLimit to customize the functioning of ASP.NET work processes.

4. Enable Caching and Dynamic Compression on IIS: Along with changing the ASP.NET configuration, you also need to change the IIS configuration to make your dynamic web applications more scalable. For instance, if the dynamic content compression option is disabled, it will have a negative impact on the output from the WCF services and ASP.NET pages. So you must turn IIS compression on for both static and dynamic content. Often the Enable Dynamic Content Compression feature remains disabled by default. You can go to the “Add or Remote Features” from Windows start menu, and enable the dynamic content compression property from the IIS Features.

5. Avoid Using Cookies on Static Content: Many developers use cookies to store a variety of temporary information. But the cookies are sent by each user request to the server, even when the page is static. So the application sends some amount of irrelevant data to the server as part of each user request. Also, the cookies will affect the user experience negatively by decreasing the speed of page downloading. However, you can still use cookies to improve the performance of dynamic web pages.

6. Avail the Bundling and Minification Feature: The updated version of the framework allows you to bundle and minify the size of scripts and style sheets used in the web application. You can avail the feature to optimize the performance of your website without putting any extra effort. ASP.NET4.5 allows you to bundle and minify files using the System.Web.Optimization namespace. The namespace can be found in the Global.asax file. You also have option to customize the default ASP.NET bundling features to suit the needs of your web application.

The updated version of ASP.NET also comes with a set of innovative features to make it easier for asp.net development companies to optimize the performance and scalability of their web application. Along with taking advantages of these new features, you also need to explore options to optimize the scalability and performance of the application by making small configuration changes.

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