.Net

With .NET gaining popularity as the next generation Microsoft technology we get requests to convert ASP projects to .NET and inquiries about the benefits of building with .Net.

We have observed that working with .NET has many advantages, especially where security issues are concerned. It is easy to use and has a strong component based architecture. Also, the compilation and caching techniques in .NET are quite advanced and this leads to improved performance of the application.

An important practical benefit with .NET is that it gives us the flexibility to choose multiple languages for coding without having to worry about integration issues. This enables us to move forward with available development skills thus helping us populate a team quickly and saving on retraining costs. The common runtime is language-neutral so, VisualBasic programmers can use components written in C# and vice versa. Other languages, such as COBOL and FORTRAN, can also be plugged into Visual Studio.NET to create one application using code generated by different developers using their language of choice.

The biggest change though in building web applications with .NET is that Microsoft has gone the STRUTS way and split code into layers. So instead of having HTML and code mixed up together on the same page (read as difficult to maintain), you now have two pages, one to lay out your web page exactly as you want it and another for the "code-behind" where you handle the logic. Quite simply, you have a button on one page, and the code that handles the button click on another that the user never sees.