Category: Asp.net

WCF or ASP.NET Web API: Which one to choose?

Posted on by Jay

Everybody provides API’s to consume these days. Some of the most popular ones are Facebook, Twitter, Google, Github and the list goes on.

API which build services can be consumed by a broad range of clients, including browsers and mobile devices.

In Microsoft platform API can be created by using couple of technologies and they are WCF AND ASP.NET Web API.

Here I am discussing about the major differences between above two technologies.

wcf-vs-web_v_3

Advantages of Web API  over WCF:

  • Excellent programming model for HTTP.
  • More suitable for access from various browsers, mobile devices etc. enabling wide reach.
  • Enables building APIs that support wide variety of media types including XML, JSON etc.
  • Uses basic protocol and formats such as HTTP, WebSockets, SSL, JQuery, JSON, and XML.
  • HTTP is request/response but additional patterns can be supported through SignalR and WebSockets integration.
  • There is a variety of ways to describe a Web API ranging from auto-generated HTML help page describing code snippets to structured metadata for OData integrated APIs.
  • It is nearly attribute-less and uses convention over configuration to minimize the amount of configuration needed
  • It supports testing well in comparison to WCF infrastructure
  • Web API embraces HTTP’s full goodness such as client-server architecture, web caching, resources, hypermedia, etc.

Advantages of WCF  over Web API:

  • It enables building services that supports multiple transport protocols like HTTP, TCP, UDP, and custom transports
  • Allows switching between multiple transport protocols
  • Enables building services that support multiple encodings (Text, MTOM, and Binary) of the same message type and allows switching between them.
  • Supports building services with WS-* standards like Reliable Messaging, Transactions, Message Security.
  • Supports Request-Reply, One Way, and Duplex message exchange patterns.
  • WCF SOAP services can be described in WSDL allowing automated tools to generate client proxies even for services with complex schemas.

Conclusion:

If you required to use RPC and want to implement enterprise based implementation, then WCF is fine but if you need an API serving all kind of devices Web API is superior.

If you want to move over from HTTP to some other transport, say TCP, NetTCP, MSMQ then WCF will be a better option.

So if we are starting anything from scratch then choose Web API but if you have already have an enterprise WCF app then stick to it.

Recommended Blog: Comparison between ASP.NET MVC or ASP.NET Web Forms

Comparison between ASP.NET MVC or ASP.NET Web Forms

Posted on by Jay

When it comes to web development using Microsoft’s .NET framework, two popular approaches are ASP.NET MVC (Model-View-Controller) and ASP.NET Web Forms.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and the choice between them depends on the specific needs of your project.

In this blog post, we’ll compare ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web Forms in terms of architecture, development style, flexibility, and other key factors to help you make an informed decision.

When developing web apps using Microsoft’s .NET framework, the two most popular approaches that developers employ are the ASP.NET MVC and the ASP.NET Web Forms.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses; the choice between which one is best depends on the specific needs of the projects. 

In this blog post we will compare the ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web Forms in terms of architecture, development style, flexibility and other key factors to help to make the right decision. 

ASP.NET MVC ASP.NET Web Forms
Architecture:
  • MVC is a design pattern that separates an application into three components: Model, View, and Controller.
  • This separation of concerns provides a more organized and maintainable codebase.
  • Developers have fine-grained control over the HTML, enabling them to create SEO-friendly and responsive web applications.
  • Web Forms follow a more traditional event-driven model, where you design pages with server controls and handle events on the server.
  • The architecture is more tightly coupled, making it easier for beginners but less flexible for complex scenarios.
Development Style:
  • Promotes a test-driven development (TDD) approach, which is ideal for writing unit tests.
  • Developers have more control over the markup, making it easier to customize the HTML and CSS.
  • Offers a rapid application development (RAD) style, which is well-suited for small to medium-sized projects with quick turnarounds.
  • It provides a more event-centric programming model, making it easier for developers with a background in Windows Forms development.
Flexibility
  • Highly flexible and extensible, allowing developers to use third-party libraries and frameworks as needed.
  • It is a good choice for building RESTful APIs, and it can be used to create single-page applications (SPAs).
  • Less flexible when it comes to integrating third-party libraries and frameworks.
  • Best suited for traditional web applications with server controls and postbacks.
Learning Curve:
  • Has a steeper learning curve, especially for developers who are new to the MVC design pattern.
  • Requires a good understanding of web development concepts, making it a better choice for experienced developers.
  • Easier for beginners to grasp, particularly those with a background in Windows Forms development.
  • Offers a more visual and event-driven approach that can be more intuitive for some.
SEO and Performance:
  • Provides better control over HTML markup and URLs, making it easier to create SEO-friendly web applications.
  • Generally offers better performance, as it reduces the overhead associated with the ViewState in Web Forms.
  • SEO can be more challenging due to the nature of server controls and View State.
  • In some cases, it may result in slower performance, especially when handling complex forms.
Community and Support:
  • Has a strong and active community, with a plethora of resources, documentation, and third-party extensions available.
  • Regular updates and improvements have been made to the framework.
  • Although still supported, its popularity has waned compared to ASP.NET MVC.
  • The community and resources are not as vibrant as they once were.

Let’s compare and figure out:

Following are the advantages of ASP.NET MVC over Web Forms:

  • Absence of statefulness and ViewState makes the page lighter compared to WebForms
  • Shorter page life-cycle makes it easy to understand and less complex
  • Higher control over HTML, JavaScript(DOM elements) and CSS makes customization and accessibility easier
  • Higher control over HTML means compliance with evolving standards like Web2.0
  • Higher control over HTML also means developers find it easier in building Ajax applications, and adding more interactivity and responsiveness to existing applications
  • Modification takes less time to implement as there is separation between UI and business layers
  • Having option to accommodate more than one form in a single page is a clear advantage
  • TDD is easier to implement as it does not relies on event handlers which are only fired in web contexts, when a form is posted or a page is requested
  • MVC framework decouples the components and makes use of interfaces, which makes it easier to test individual components in isolation from the rest of the framework
  • It’s efficient for large application specially those follows agile methodologies for development
  • URLs tend to be much more SEO-friendly, if you design your controllers and actions properly

Following are the advantages of Web Forms over ASP.NET MVC:

  • Easy to learn for most of the developers regardless of their background in development
  • Higher number of active developers compared to ASP.NET MVC as the technology is relatively old
  • Since it uses controls, it is easier to inherit that means you can reuse controls made for other application
  • For developers increase in productivity is a definite plus
  • Developer with higher competence in HTML,DOM, and CSS is not mandatory as most of it is handled by controls
  • Easier to achieve data persistence between requests due to statefulness and ViewState
  • RAD(Rapid Application Development) with drag & drop controls means you do not need to code much
  • It is faster to implement validation on controls as they are generated automatically
  • Lots of third party component makes it easier to generate the HTML and JavaScript for the developer
  • Programmatic access to the UI elements makes it easier to implement SharePoint

The framework chosen should be based upon the requirements and resources of the company doing the development.

If you want to have a faster development cycle than Web Forms might be the best option.

If time, money, and energy to develop an application from the scratch is not a constraint then MVC could potentially be the better option.

Andolasoft has extensive experience with both frameworks and would be more than happy to help you to decide your development decisions.

Recommended Blog: Rails-Things you must know about TDD and BDD

Do you like this blog? I’d love to hear something from you. Thanks for sharing your comments.

Technical Enhancement Witnessed in .NET Framework 4.0

Posted on by Jay

Dot Net has evolved as a gem of an enterprise software development technology ever since it was introduced back in 2002.

Although .NET has been constantly undergoing some changes but the .NET version 4.0 has come up with some significantly important ones.

These changes are related to the overall architecture and greatly enhance its functionality.

Dynamic Language Run time (DLR): Engineers at Microsoft have come up with Dynamic Language Run time (DLR), which is built above the Common Language Run time (CLR) and facilitates easy interoperability of like set of technologies inside a regular framework.

It allows .NET developers to build applications using dynamic languages like Ruby, Python etc on top of .NET Framework run time.

A set of new services have been added through DLR, which allows the implementation of dynamic languages on the managed platform of .NET.

The dynamic type system, regular hosting model, and quick dynamic code generation are some modules that are supported by these services.

DLR comprises of 3 layers which are as such:

  • .NET Language Integration level
  • Language Binders
  • Dynamic Language Runtime Code Components

Support for Parallel Computing: Writing robust multithreaded applications and asynchronous code is possible with the parallel computing model provided in .NET 4.0. A managed library for design and implementation, called Parallel Extensions Library, will utilize the parallel hardware of a system to carry out parallel computing.

Managed Extensibility Framework: A new Managed Extensibility Framework has been introduced which can be applied to build lightweight, extensible and unified applications, by influencing the characteristics and benefits of the run time environment (CLR).

Although Windows Communication Foundation was introduced in .NET 3.0, certain enhancements like simplified configuration, IIS hosting, REST features, Workflow and Routing services have come up with .NET 4.0.

Similarly, the Windows Workflow Foundation has also witnessed enhanced extensibility in WF designer, improved activity model, and built-in activity library in this latest version.