Contrary to general belief .NET is not a single technology. Rather it is a set of technologies that work together seamlessly to solve your business problems.
The following sections will give you insight into various flavors and tools of .NET and what kind of applications you can develop.
• What type of applications can I develop?
When you hear the name .NET, it gives a feeling that it is something to do only with internet or networked applications. Even though it is true that .NET provides solid foundation for developing such applications it is possible to create many other types of applications. Following list will give you an idea about various types of application that we can develop on .NET.
1. ASP.NET Web applications: These include dynamic and data driven browser based applications.
2. Windows Form based applications: These refer to traditional rich client applications.
3. Console applications: These refer to traditional DOS kind of applications like batch scripts.
4. Component Libraries: This refers to components that typically encapsulate some business logic.
5. Windows Custom Controls: As with traditional ActiveX controls, you can develop your own windows controls.
6. Web Custom Controls: The concept of custom controls can be extended to web applications allowing code reuse and modularization.
7. Web services: They are “web callable” functionality available via industry standards like HTTP, XML and SOAP.
8. Windows Services: They refer to applications that run as services in the background. They can be configured to start automatically when the system boots up.
As you can clearly see, .NET is not just for creating web application but for almost all kinds of applications that you find under Windows.
• .NET Framework SDK
You can develop such varied types of applications. That’s fine. But how? As with most of the programming languages, .NET has a complete Software Development Kit (SDK) - more commonly referred to as .NET Framework SDK - that provides classes, interfaces and language compilers necessary to program for .NET. Additionally it contains excellent documentation and Quick
Start tutorials that help you learn .NET technologies with ease. Good news is that - .NET Framework SDK is available FREE of cost. You can download it from the MSDN web site.
This means that if you have machine with .NET Framework installed and a text editor such as Notepad then you can start developing for .NET right now!
You can download entire .NET Framework SDK (approx 131 Mb) from MSDN web site at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?url=/downloads/sample.asp?url =/msdn-files/027/000/976/msdncompositedoc.xml
• Development Tools
If you are developing applications that require speedy delivery to your customers and features like integration with some version control software then simple Notepad may not
serve your purpose. In such cases you require some Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows for Rapid Action Development (RAD). The new Visual Studio.NET is such an IDE.
VS.NET is a powerful and flexible IDE that makes developing .NET applications a breeze. Some of the features of VS.NET that make you more productive are:
- Drag and Drop design
- IntelliSense features
- Syntax highlighting and auto-syntax checking
- Excellent debugging tools
- Integration with version control software such as Visual Source Safe (VSS)
- Easy project management
Note that when you install Visual Studio.NET, .NET Framework is automatically installed on the machine.
• Visual Studio.NET Editions
Visual Studio.NET comes in different editions. You can select edition appropriate for the kind of development you are doing. Following editions of VS.NET are available:
- Professional
- Enterprise Developer
- Enterprise Architect
Visual Studio .NET Professional edition offers a development tool for creating various types of applications mentioned previously. Developers can use Professional edition to build Internet and Develop applications quickly and create solutions that span any device and integrate with any platform.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer (VSED) edition contains all the features of Professional edition plus has additional capabilities for enterprise development. The features include things such as a collaborative team development, Third party tool integration for building XML Web services and built-in project templates with architectural guidelines and spanning comprehensive project life-cycle.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect (VSEA) edition contains all the features of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer edition and additionally includes capabilities for designing, specifying, and communicating application architecture and functionality. The additional features include Visual designer for XML Web services, Unified Modeling Language (UML) support and enterprise templates for development guidelines and policies.
A complete comparison of these editions can be found at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/howtobuy/choosing.asp
In addition to these editions, special language specific editions are available. They are:
- Visual Basic.NET Standard Edition
- Visual C# Standard Edition
- Visual C++ .NET Standard (soon to be released)
These editions are primarily for hobbyist, student, or beginner who wants to try their hands on basic language features.
A complete comparison of these standard editions with professional edition of VS.NET can be found at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vcsharp/howtobuy/choosing.asp
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/howtobuy/choosing.asp
• .NET Redistributable
In order to run application developed using .NET Framework the machine must have certain ‘runtime’ files installed. They are collectively called as .NET redistributable.
This is analogous to traditional Visual Basic applications that required Visual Basic runtime installed on target computers. .NET redistributable provides one redistributable installer that contains the common language runtime (more on that later) and Microsoft .NET Framework components that are necessary to run .NET Framework applications.
The redistributable is available as a stand-alone executable and can be installed manually or as a part of your application setup.
You can download .NET redistributable at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?url=/downloads/sample.asp?url=/msdn-files/027/001/829/msdncompositedoc.xml
More technical information about .NET redistributable can be found at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/enus/dnnetdep/html/dotnetfxref.asp
Note that if you have installed .NET Framework SDK, there is no need of installing redistributable separately. Also, note that there is difference between .NET Framework SDK and .NET redistributable in terms of purpose and tools and documentation supplied. .NET Framework SDK is intended to ‘develop’ applications where as .NET redistributable is intended to ‘run’ .NET applications.
• .NET and mobile development
Now days the use of mobile and wireless devices is ever increasing. PDAs, mobile phones, Smartphones, handheld PCs and HTML pagers are becoming common. As compared to full blown desktop computers, Mobile devices are generally resource-constrained. There are limitations on what they can display
and in which form. For example you can easily display graphical menus in desktop applications but the same may not be possible for cell phones.
Today there are many vendors making CPUs and development tools for mobile devices. However, their standards are much varying. For example devices running Windows CE will have different tools and standards of development than Palm OS. Also, programming model for such devices is an issue of debate. For example, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) was considered a ‘standard’ for mobile devices but it introduced disadvantages of its own such as requirement of continuous connectivity, lack in rich user interface and failure to utilize client – side resources effectively.
Mobile devices can be broadly divided into two categories:
1) Mobile Devices that have certain client-side resources like PDAs,Smartphones and Handheld PCs. They can run stand-alone application with rich user interface.
2) Mobile Devices that lack even these client-side resources such as mobile phones. They can not run stand alone applications having rich and more interactive user interface.
In order to encompass all possible devices from above categories Microsoft has developed two distinct technologies namely:
- Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF)
- Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT)
o Microsoft .NET Compact Framework
.NET compact framework is a sub set of entire .NET framework and is targeted at mobile devices having some client side resources. It provides support for managed code and XML Web services. Currently, .NET Compact Framework is in Beta 1 and is available on devices running the Windows CE or Windows CE .NET operating systems. However, Microsoft has promised support for other platforms in the future. As of
now the framework supports Visual Basic.NET and C# as development languages out of the box. Support for other languages is planned in near future.
Microsoft is creating a set of extensions for Visual Studio .NET called Smart Device Extensions that will allow Visual Studio .NET developers to program for .NET Compact Framework. This means that developers familiar with Visual Studio.NET can start developing for mobile devices almost instantly.
More information about .NET Compact Framework can be obtained at http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/device/compact.asp
o Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit
Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT) is designed to develop server side applications for mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and pagers. It is different than .NET compact Framework in that it is a server side technology. It is ideal for devices that can not run stand alone applications.
MMIT mainly uses ASP.NET as a technology for delivering markup to a wide variety of mobile devices. As we know that each mobile device has its own set of underlying standards and markup. MMIT shields these details from the developer and allows ‘uniform code’ for any target device. Based on the capabilities of target device the output is rendered.
The following sections will give you insight into various flavors and tools of .NET and what kind of applications you can develop.
• What type of applications can I develop?
When you hear the name .NET, it gives a feeling that it is something to do only with internet or networked applications. Even though it is true that .NET provides solid foundation for developing such applications it is possible to create many other types of applications. Following list will give you an idea about various types of application that we can develop on .NET.
1. ASP.NET Web applications: These include dynamic and data driven browser based applications.
2. Windows Form based applications: These refer to traditional rich client applications.
3. Console applications: These refer to traditional DOS kind of applications like batch scripts.
4. Component Libraries: This refers to components that typically encapsulate some business logic.
5. Windows Custom Controls: As with traditional ActiveX controls, you can develop your own windows controls.
6. Web Custom Controls: The concept of custom controls can be extended to web applications allowing code reuse and modularization.
7. Web services: They are “web callable” functionality available via industry standards like HTTP, XML and SOAP.
8. Windows Services: They refer to applications that run as services in the background. They can be configured to start automatically when the system boots up.
As you can clearly see, .NET is not just for creating web application but for almost all kinds of applications that you find under Windows.
• .NET Framework SDK
You can develop such varied types of applications. That’s fine. But how? As with most of the programming languages, .NET has a complete Software Development Kit (SDK) - more commonly referred to as .NET Framework SDK - that provides classes, interfaces and language compilers necessary to program for .NET. Additionally it contains excellent documentation and Quick
Start tutorials that help you learn .NET technologies with ease. Good news is that - .NET Framework SDK is available FREE of cost. You can download it from the MSDN web site.
This means that if you have machine with .NET Framework installed and a text editor such as Notepad then you can start developing for .NET right now!
You can download entire .NET Framework SDK (approx 131 Mb) from MSDN web site at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?url=/downloads/sample.asp?url =/msdn-files/027/000/976/msdncompositedoc.xml
• Development Tools
If you are developing applications that require speedy delivery to your customers and features like integration with some version control software then simple Notepad may not
serve your purpose. In such cases you require some Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows for Rapid Action Development (RAD). The new Visual Studio.NET is such an IDE.
VS.NET is a powerful and flexible IDE that makes developing .NET applications a breeze. Some of the features of VS.NET that make you more productive are:
- Drag and Drop design
- IntelliSense features
- Syntax highlighting and auto-syntax checking
- Excellent debugging tools
- Integration with version control software such as Visual Source Safe (VSS)
- Easy project management
Note that when you install Visual Studio.NET, .NET Framework is automatically installed on the machine.
• Visual Studio.NET Editions
Visual Studio.NET comes in different editions. You can select edition appropriate for the kind of development you are doing. Following editions of VS.NET are available:
- Professional
- Enterprise Developer
- Enterprise Architect
Visual Studio .NET Professional edition offers a development tool for creating various types of applications mentioned previously. Developers can use Professional edition to build Internet and Develop applications quickly and create solutions that span any device and integrate with any platform.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer (VSED) edition contains all the features of Professional edition plus has additional capabilities for enterprise development. The features include things such as a collaborative team development, Third party tool integration for building XML Web services and built-in project templates with architectural guidelines and spanning comprehensive project life-cycle.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect (VSEA) edition contains all the features of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer edition and additionally includes capabilities for designing, specifying, and communicating application architecture and functionality. The additional features include Visual designer for XML Web services, Unified Modeling Language (UML) support and enterprise templates for development guidelines and policies.
A complete comparison of these editions can be found at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/howtobuy/choosing.asp
In addition to these editions, special language specific editions are available. They are:
- Visual Basic.NET Standard Edition
- Visual C# Standard Edition
- Visual C++ .NET Standard (soon to be released)
These editions are primarily for hobbyist, student, or beginner who wants to try their hands on basic language features.
A complete comparison of these standard editions with professional edition of VS.NET can be found at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vcsharp/howtobuy/choosing.asp
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/howtobuy/choosing.asp
• .NET Redistributable
In order to run application developed using .NET Framework the machine must have certain ‘runtime’ files installed. They are collectively called as .NET redistributable.
This is analogous to traditional Visual Basic applications that required Visual Basic runtime installed on target computers. .NET redistributable provides one redistributable installer that contains the common language runtime (more on that later) and Microsoft .NET Framework components that are necessary to run .NET Framework applications.
The redistributable is available as a stand-alone executable and can be installed manually or as a part of your application setup.
You can download .NET redistributable at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?url=/downloads/sample.asp?url=/msdn-files/027/001/829/msdncompositedoc.xml
More technical information about .NET redistributable can be found at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/enus/dnnetdep/html/dotnetfxref.asp
Note that if you have installed .NET Framework SDK, there is no need of installing redistributable separately. Also, note that there is difference between .NET Framework SDK and .NET redistributable in terms of purpose and tools and documentation supplied. .NET Framework SDK is intended to ‘develop’ applications where as .NET redistributable is intended to ‘run’ .NET applications.
• .NET and mobile development
Now days the use of mobile and wireless devices is ever increasing. PDAs, mobile phones, Smartphones, handheld PCs and HTML pagers are becoming common. As compared to full blown desktop computers, Mobile devices are generally resource-constrained. There are limitations on what they can display
and in which form. For example you can easily display graphical menus in desktop applications but the same may not be possible for cell phones.
Today there are many vendors making CPUs and development tools for mobile devices. However, their standards are much varying. For example devices running Windows CE will have different tools and standards of development than Palm OS. Also, programming model for such devices is an issue of debate. For example, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) was considered a ‘standard’ for mobile devices but it introduced disadvantages of its own such as requirement of continuous connectivity, lack in rich user interface and failure to utilize client – side resources effectively.
Mobile devices can be broadly divided into two categories:
1) Mobile Devices that have certain client-side resources like PDAs,Smartphones and Handheld PCs. They can run stand-alone application with rich user interface.
2) Mobile Devices that lack even these client-side resources such as mobile phones. They can not run stand alone applications having rich and more interactive user interface.
In order to encompass all possible devices from above categories Microsoft has developed two distinct technologies namely:
- Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF)
- Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT)
o Microsoft .NET Compact Framework
.NET compact framework is a sub set of entire .NET framework and is targeted at mobile devices having some client side resources. It provides support for managed code and XML Web services. Currently, .NET Compact Framework is in Beta 1 and is available on devices running the Windows CE or Windows CE .NET operating systems. However, Microsoft has promised support for other platforms in the future. As of
now the framework supports Visual Basic.NET and C# as development languages out of the box. Support for other languages is planned in near future.
Microsoft is creating a set of extensions for Visual Studio .NET called Smart Device Extensions that will allow Visual Studio .NET developers to program for .NET Compact Framework. This means that developers familiar with Visual Studio.NET can start developing for mobile devices almost instantly.
More information about .NET Compact Framework can be obtained at http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/device/compact.asp
o Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit
Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT) is designed to develop server side applications for mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and pagers. It is different than .NET compact Framework in that it is a server side technology. It is ideal for devices that can not run stand alone applications.
MMIT mainly uses ASP.NET as a technology for delivering markup to a wide variety of mobile devices. As we know that each mobile device has its own set of underlying standards and markup. MMIT shields these details from the developer and allows ‘uniform code’ for any target device. Based on the capabilities of target device the output is rendered.