.NET Web Development

Probably the most significant happening in Web development after e-commerce (which made taking customers’ orders and information easy and fast), is the entry of software giant Microsoft Corp. into the already widening arena of Web and software development.  In 2000, after only three years of secret and silent development, Microsoft released alpha and beta versions of its .NET framework, leading to a 2005 launch of its version 1.0.  Microsoft launched its latest upgrade, version 3.5, in November 2007.

Microsoft developed the .NET framework to enable Web pages to render applications and services that were previously possible when done only on one’s desktop after downloading and installing the necessary software.  The .NET framework offered a range of programming support that makes it possible to do, for instance, word processing tasks on the Web, with quality that rivals that of a Microsoft Word output.  Or spreadsheet tasks that is as simple to do and presentable as work done on Microsoft Excel.

The .NET platform suite of services also includes building-block services (i.e. data and information storage), device software, and servers.

With the launch of the .NET framework, millions of Internet users around the globe have experienced greater interactivity, synergy, and convenience, making online computing and even team work easier to manage.  Now not only are they doing desktop tasks online, they are able to synchronize data in real time as well.

Although limited — the most major setback of the .NET framework is that it would only work fully on products designed and programs written that are specifically compatible with it — the .NET framework has caused a shift in the way programmers, Web developers and ordinary users see both offline and online computing.  The .NET Web development, for one, has increased both the functionality and the interactivity on Web sites, while making it possible to access database data in a fast and secure way.    This interactivity and functionality affect a wide range of Web development aspects, from e-commerce, to site functions.  Now everything a user ever wanted to do on the Web is possible.

Web programmers, on the other hand, have benefited from the .NET framework by making it possible to create reusable programs and modules leading to increased productivity and less errors.  Many programmers and developers are also benefitted by the .NET framework’s rich and varied library of pre-coded and pioneering solutions that address and solve some of the most common programming problems.  In this aspect, Microsoft not only provided a secure and dynamic environment in which to run software, applications and programs, it also provided programmers with an invaluable set of tools.  This allows for a faster development process and increased productivity.

A component of the .NET framework, ASP.NET, specifically benefits Web developers by enabling them to create any Web site: from personal Web pages to complex corporate Web sites.  The result is an outstandingly fast, highly interactive and more personalized Web experience for the Web site browser.

The .NET framework interoperability strength lies in the fact that it supports various static and dynamic programming languages from C++, to Visual Basic, to JavaScript, to C#.  Other developers have come up with support for other platforms and programming languages like Java and Perl.  This has paved the way for the wide adoption of the .NET framework.  Its wide adoption and acceptance in turn allowed it to build on and add to its library of pre-coded programs as used by programmers all over the world.

Further, the .NET framework ensures increased security, better memory management and error handling.  Not only are software, programs and applications faster and easier to develop, they are also easy, safe and hassle-free to use.

Lastly, the .NET framework’s Web services allow for the easy creation of objects using other applications, connected computers, and even among different operating systems.  The increased level of integration this brings about ensures that Web and software developers can easily write applications that are both useful and necessary to the end product users.

The success of Microsoft’s .NET framework, in terms of initial adoption, widespread deployment and even more widespread acceptance among programmers and developers, is very much established and can not be contested.    Perhaps the most telling of the success and popularity of the .NET framework, at least in the area of Web development, is that the fact that another giant, Google, Inc., has followed suit.  Google has recently come out with Chrome as a platform to run its own suite of online applications, in an obvious jab at Microsoft’s .NET success.