A reliable and high-quality business web or mobile application is the key element for successful competition in the market. That’s why many businesses devote so much attention to the development tools when building their own digital solutions.
.NET is one of the frameworks that is best suited for the development of flexible business applications in the short term and at a reasonable cost. A wide range of companies prefer .NET for building robust and reliable web and mobile applications. In this article, we will look into the benefits of the .NET framework and find out what types of business applications can be created with .NET.
Types of Business Applications Built With .NET
There is an impressive variety of business applications that have the .NET framework at their core. They can be divided into:
- desktop applications that run on Windows, OSx, Mac, and Linux;
- web applications that are multi-platform as they are accessed through a web browser;
- mobile apps that run on Android or iOS;
- applications built for embedded systems;
- console-based applications.
Let’s have a look at some examples that software developers can create using various frameworks gathered under the .NET umbrella.
Desktop applications include:
- accounting or bookkeeping applications;
- inventory and product applications;
- warehousing and storehousing systems;
- CRM systems;
- logistics and supply management applications;
- business intelligence applications.
Web applications are:
- XML Web Services
- dynamic web pages
- various websites, like e-Commerce, homepages, magazine websites, landing pages, and others.
Mobile applications include:
- native mobile apps;
- cross-platform mobile apps;
- hybrid mobile apps.
Other applications are:
- handheld PC or PDA;
- applications for embedded systems, like office and home appliances automation, controlling and tracking systems, and others.
Why Use .NET for Business Application Development
.NET framework is applicable to the development of an extensive range of business applications. There is a number of reasons why .NET is a perfect fit for business app development:
It is open-source and free.
It means that software developers can use .NET programming languages, libraries, compilers, runtimes, and other tools without paying any licensing costs, even for commercial use.
It is cross-platform.
.NET allows building desktop, mobile, web, and other applications using just one programming language.
It is applicable for enterprise application development.
.NET has a strong and diverse set of tools that allows building enterprise applications of various complexity, type, and with a wide range of features.
It is easy to maintain.
.NET framework uses C#, F#, and VB.NET object-oriented programming languages. They don’t require extensive coding, make it easier to troubleshoot the coding errors, allow reusing code in various parts of a built app, and much more.
- Saving development time and effort.
Software developers can reuse parts of a code to build applications faster.
- Great for building high-end applications.
.NET framework offers a variety of frameworks created particularly for building certain application types. For example, ASP.NET is used especially for building web apps with dynamic web pages, while Xamarin is used for mobile development.
- Secure.
.NET has code signing and code access features that ensure that the code written by a software developer is the actual code that will be executed by the .NET Framework. Moreover, as .NET is developed and maintained by Microsoft company, it releases patches and updates for the framework to prevent widespread attacks.
- Easy to deploy.
.NET framework has a vast range of features such as controlled code sharing, private components, side-by-side versioning, and others that ensure easier code development, versioning, and execution.
- Has a strong development community.
It means that software developers can easily find solutions for the application development issues they might face during the development process, apply ready-made solutions shared by the community, find and share various development tools with their colleagues.
Key .Net Frameworks for Business App Development
.NET represents a diverse ecosystem for building various types of applications. Each type has its own framework devoted to fast and effective .NET application development. Let’s have a look at some of them.
ASP.NET
ASP.NET is a web-application framework used for building dynamic web pages. The advantages of the ASP.NET framework are that it helps software developers to simplify web application development, easily debug and deploy web solutions.
When working in ASP.NET, web developers can access all the .NET classes and features and use .NET programming languages. This allows creating robust, easy-to-customize, and secure web applications with diverse functionality.
ASP.NET MVC
ASP.NET MVC is an integral part of the ASP.NET framework. With ASP.NET MVC, software developers can create web applications based on the Model View Controller (MVC) development pattern – a standard software development design pattern that allows building robust applications with the architecture well-separated into logical components.
Digital solutions built with MVC architecture are fast, easy to develop and maintain as they have clear and well-structured logical layers.
ASP.NET WebForms
ASP.NET WebForms represents a component of ASP.NET. It’s a web-application framework that helps to build dynamic web pages with drag-and-drop functionality. Its design surface and a variety of components and controls accelerate the development of UI-driven web sites with data access.
.NET Core
.NET Core is a general-purpose cross-platform framework that runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. With .NET Core software developers can build a considerable number of applications, including desktop, mobile, web, IoT, Cloud solutions as well as microservices, and many others.
The main .NET Core advantages are:
- it’s open-source, meaning that it can be used and distributed by anyone;
- it’s cross-platform, therefore, it runs on Windows, iOS, and Linux operating systems;
- supports .NET programming languages such as C#, F#, and Visual Basic;
- has a modular architecture which makes it easier to maintain;
- it’s fast and flexible to deploy due to the use of Docker Containers;
- it’s compatible with other .NET solutions by using .NET Standard specifications.
Xamarin
Xamarin is an open-source platform used for mobile development. It allows building native applications that run on Android and iOS, cross-platform solutions, Windows and macOS applications, including tvOS and watchOS solutions.
Many software developers prefer building their mobile application using Xamarin as it uses C# for the development of multiple platforms, can share code across platforms, allows building apps with native user experience, covers 100% of APIs used for Android and iOS development, uses .NET Integrated Development Environment (IDE), easy to manage.
WCF
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a framework used for the development of connected service-oriented applications (SOA). These applications contain various services that are organized in a hierarchy and exchange data among each other. The smaller services are combined together into one coherent and more complex service provided to end-users.
For example, when a user uses a camera to scan a barcode and then compare prices in a system, they use several services – a camera, scan, and price comparison as one.
The WCF framework allows software developers to use SOA and web services together. It helps to lower application costs and improve their flexibility.
Conclusion
.NET is a powerful framework well-suited for business application development. It joins under its umbrella numerous web, mobile, desktop, and other frameworks that help develop secure and high-quality business applications within a reasonable time frame and budget.
Software developers love using .NET as it provides them with a variety of useful and effective tools that help to minimize the number of code errors, accelerate software development, and ensure easy code reuse. All of these allow building advanced business applications with joy and less effort.
Namaste UI collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored guest posting strategies that align with their unique goals and target audiences. Their commitment to delivering high-quality, niche-specific content ensures that each guest post not only meets but exceeds the expectations of both clients and the hosting platforms. Connect with us on social media for the latest updates on guest posting trends, outreach strategies, and digital marketing tips. For any types of guest posting services, contact us on info[at]namasteui.com.