.NET Application Development Services

What is the story behind .NET?

Microsoft originally developed .NET in the late 1990s for the sole purpose of powering a variety of Microsoft-exclusive .NET software solutions, including both web and desktop applications. It was first released as a standalone product in 2002. The source code was then made available to the public in 2007.

In 2016, the first major version of .NET Core, which represents a shift towards cross-platform capabilities for building cloud-based .NET apps capable of running on Windows, macOS, and Linux, such as web apps, IoT apps, and mobile backends. After a series of major releases each year, Microsoft unified .NET Core and .NET Framework into a single platform now called .NET (starting from .NET 5+).

What are the benefits of .NET?

• Reusable Code: Businesses can release their product on multiple platforms without the need to write individual code for each version.
• Versatile: .NET can be used to build websites, mobile applications, cloud solutions, or even IoT environments. Examples include Microsoft Outlook, Xero accounting software, and the official Dell website.
• Easy to Scale: Outsourced .NET teams only need to modify one piece of code to upscale or downscale the .NET application instead of rewriting everything.
• Easy to Maintain: By using just one programming language to power all your applications, you can easily maintain and update each product’s version without spending a fortune.
• Supportive User Community: .NET has one of the strongest and most supportive user communities, helping developers in quick troubleshooting and streamlining the development cycle.
• Advanced Security Measures: .NET makes it easy to implement security into various applications and websites through the use of role-based security and cryptography models.
• Seamless Collaboration: Outsourced .NET developers can use collaboration tools like Redmine and TFS to collaborate with each other and showcase their progress to clients in real-time.

What sets .NET development apart from other tools?

One of the biggest advantages is that .NET is an OOP (Object Oriented Programming) framework.

With .NET, developers have the freedom to determine which objects to work with, what their unique attributes are, how they function within the context of an application, and even reuse portions of their existing code to slash development times and costs.

In addition, .NET developers can draw from a variety of stock and custom libraries and assets to bring their applications to life, making it easy to quickly take an idea from concept to realization while giving the application its own unique look and feel.

What are .NET applications?

• Web Applications: Using ASP.NET Core to develop scalable websites and web apps (e.g., customer portals, CMS, e-commerce platforms).
• Desktop Applications: Leveraging the support for Windows Forms, WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), and UWP (Universal Windows Platform) to build Windows desktop applications. (e.g., POS systems, inventory management software).
• Mobile Applications: Using Xamarin for cross-platform mobile app development with a shared C# codebase (e.g., banking apps, fitness tracking apps).
• Cloud-based Applications: Supporting seamless integration with Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud for cloud-based app development (e.g., SaaS platforms, data processing services).
• Enterprise Applications: Widely used in large-scale enterprise systems (e.g., ERP systems, CRM platforms, payroll systems).
• Gaming Applications: Utilizing Unity (a game development engine that supports .NET) to build 2D and 3D games (e.g., VR/AR apps, cross-platform console games).
• Machine Learning & AI Applications: Making use of ML.NET to add ML models directly into .NET solutions (e.g., recommendation engines, predictive analytics tools).
• IoT Applications: Adopting .NET Core and the support for Raspberry Pi and other edge devices to develop IoT solutions (e.g., smart sensors, home automation systems).

What is new with the latest .NET 8 development platform?

In November 2023, Microsoft released the latest iteration of its framework, .NET 8. This is an LTS release that encapsulates a set of exciting features and enhancements promised to ease the tasks of .NET software developers in a more considerable way compared to previous versions.

• Performance Boosts: With the further optimization of the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, .NET 8 exceeds previous versions in performance and speed, enabling faster and more efficient execution of apps, streamlining memory management, reducing loading time, improving latency and throughput.
• Cross-platform Development Support: .NET 8 version brings along with it the improvement of cross-platform compatibility. .NET programmers write a single codebase that runs natively on Windows, Linux, macOS, and other operating systems supported by the framework. Businesses can cater to a broader user base on desktop and mobile devices with minimal effort.
• Language Interoperability: In the latest version of .NET, Microsoft continues to uphold and enhance the principle of language interoperability, especially in relation to C and C++ languages. This is the ability of code written in different programming languages (E.g., C#, Visual Basic, and F#) to interact seamlessly with each other. This cross-language compatibility is facilitated by the .NET Standard Library and the Common Intermediate Language (CIL).
• Security Enhancements: The .NET 8 version places emphasis on security features, such as robust encryption algorithms, authentication methods, code access security, and protection against cyber-attacks. This includes built-in support for HTTPS/SSL, SSO, X.509 certificates, and NTLM/Kerberos authentication.
• New Libraries and Tools: In .NET 8, developers can now use new libraries and tools to make their development process more efficient. These include Entity Framework Core 5, .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI), and Blazor WebAssembly.
• Seamless Integration: .NET 8 offers seamless integration with other major Microsoft cloud platforms, such as Azure and SQL Server. The framework supports the use of containers, serverless computing, Kubernetes orchestration, and cloud-native development for building scalable applications.