Microsoft .NET Framework Reviews

As an architect, I figure out the best solution based on the problem at hand. It doesn't always have to be a website. Sometimes a hybrid solution is needed – one solution that can be ported to mobile or websites. I want to avoid having two different sets of code that need changes in two places. My goal is to make it as generic as possible.

So, I stay updated with the current .NET Framework and try to come up with a hands-on architecture. I develop those centric modules and provide libraries to our developers, which they add as project references. I call them the organization's libraries. This way, everything follows the same design principles.

For instance, if I create a website using the MVC framework, it has to be consistent. If I need architecture on top of it, I would use screen architecture. Then, there are other architecture and design types. If I need to write a Windows application, I prefer WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) with the MVVM framework.

We pick and choose what's needed based on complexity, data volume, storage, etc. Would the architecture be three-tier, service-oriented, or domain-driven? You break things up into database, API, and front end. Recently, I've introduced gateways for security, which have their own design pattern. I'm trying to move from API to microservices – it's about staying up-to-date and educating the team and managers.

ASP.NET within the .NET Framework improved our development process.

With the old ASP.NET, if you were using web pages, you had the traditional page lifecycle. The introduction of MVC changed things – they're two different lifecycle methodologies. 

MVC is lighter, faster, and easier to implement, while the old way goes through its own page lifecycle before rendering, which is a bit slower, in my opinion. 

Now, with .NET Core, you get out-of-the-box stylesheets like Bootstrap and more of a boilerplate setup. It's much easier – before, you had to build everything yourself. Now, with the .NET CLI (Command Line Interface), development has become even simpler.

The new .NET Core has those middlewares, which are awesome from a security standpoint. With the old Framework or the newer Framework, middleware is basically an event pipeline. You configure and register it, and it handles things centrally. A simple example is logging. 

With the old Framework, you needed to try/catch blocks everywhere. Here, you configure the logging handler once, and it captures exceptions across the application. I really like the middleware pattern.

Moreover, finding and using third-party libraries within the .NET Framework is much easier now. I can use NuGet to download them.

However, there are certain features that I don't use. For example, the interoperability features. I mostly develop in C#, so I don't deal with other languages much. I'm doing some research with Python and AI integration.

There are a few areas where they could compete better with products like React or Angular – the popular SPA (Single Page Application) frameworks. Microsoft has its own product called Blazor, but I don't think it's quite as powerful yet as React or Angular. I think that's an area for improvement. 

For example, HR asked me to build something that worked offline and online. Microsoft products don't really support that well, as I'd have to rely on browser databases. React and Angular are better for that. 

If I need something faster, I'd definitely use React. So, I see Microsoft lagging a bit in that area.

I've been developing with Microsoft technologies since 2003. I used to work with a different product, but migrated to .NET Framework around version 2.1. Since then, we've been using .NET consistently – both the older Framework for legacy projects and the latest versions for new projects. Staying updated is important for security patches and to fix any vulnerabilities.

I'm familiar with the .NET Framework. It's actually a component of Microsoft Visual Studio. There are two main branches: the older .NET Framework (versions 1.1 up to the latest, 4.8.2), and the newer cross-platform framework referred to simply as .NET (currently at version 8, with version 9 coming soon). I use both versions here.

There is room for improvement in the support. Sometimes, they ask us to provide a stack trace or dump so they can replicate a problem, but environments vary. A good error code would be helpful. 

Often, when you find a bug, they suggest waiting for a patch in the next version. In the meantime, we're stuck needing to come up with workarounds, and they don't commit to helping with that. So, we end up with temporary fixes.

The others, like React and Angular, use freeware Apache licenses. 

React is maintained by Facebook, Angular is a Google product. Microsoft has Blazor, but it lags behind. React and Angular are much faster. 

For example, React has a virtual DOM, so if you make changes, only the changed section of the page updates. It uses one-way binding, which makes it quicker to respond. Microsoft's approach involves a full-page lifecycle.

Even compared to Angular, it's different. Angular doesn't use a virtual DOM, but it leverages an MVC framework behind the scenes. 

In terms of the end product, there's some overhead. If you build an app and publish it to AWS or Azure, these applications tend to be a bit larger.

I will rate the ease of setup for .NET an eight out of ten, with ten being the easiest

I would recommend using it. .NET is intuitive, and Microsoft has a team that provides development upgrades and security patches constantly. 

For us, choosing Microsoft is a no-brainer. Our roadmap starts with on-premise development, but we're slowly moving to the cloud. It's much easier to deploy our apps to the cloud using .NET. This makes it easier to develop, maintain, and migrate from the old framework to newer versions.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Whenever I need a back-end system, I create all the applications or all the products. For example, flights, hotels, and car engines have been created. .NET and Chase use my system, and I have developed flights, hotels, and car engines completely; the entire back-end system in .NET for them.

The APIs are completely effective. I can create .NET APIs very easily through .NET. For example, if I need to design any system, I can use C# and .NET.

Their system is very vast. I have spent 12 years here, and I can definitely say there is still a lot of scope for improvement. They have done a lot, however, .NET still has room to improve.

I think I have used the solution for almost 12 years.

The stability is very good right now. With the newer version, the solution is performing very well.

Scalability is good. The system has managed the scalability very well. The compatibility with Azure cloud system is very good from the scalability side, and I am deploying a lot of applications on Azure. I didn't see any scalability issues there.

Customer service is very helpful.

Positive

Whenever someone needs a very good back-end system or a strong system, they should go with C# .NET technologies. 

Overall, I would give it a rating of nine for .NET. This is definitely the way to go.

We utilize Microsoft .NET Framework for domain and web applications. We have also developed console applications and Windows services using this framework. In the past, we employed WPS upon its launch for various purposes, including web services. Currently, our focus has shifted primarily towards web applications. We are leveraging the latest versions, such as .NET 6 and .NET 8, to develop our web services.

We have different layers of security, one on the application side and another on the network side. Over time, security has continuously improved and has remained a sensitive issue. Microsoft Framework has solutions the security department recommends, enabling us to incorporate them into our solutions.

Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality. 

They could enhance support for Python within Visual Studio, as integrating Microsoft products with other frameworks can present a steep learning curve.

Visual Studio for C# and .NET development has a smooth experience.

I have been using Microsoft .NET Framework for 10-12 years.

The .NET Framework is stable, with a few exceptions. With the release of .NET Framework 4.6.2, where significant changes were made regarding TLS and SSL certificates, resulting in the duplication of TLS 1.0. Legacy products reliant on TLS 1.0 may encounter compatibility issues when migrating to this newer version of the framework.

Microsoft is moving from the legacy .NET Framework towards a more portable and modernized version known as .NET Core. This shift involves migrating from the older versions associated with the .NET Framework to the capabilities offered by .NET Core. This transition addresses various challenges and complexities encountered with the previous framework.

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The initial setup is very easy. You just install one component and the installer package. Then, you are good to go.

It's essential to explore your options before making a decision. Microsoft offers the traditional .NET Framework. There are superior alternatives within the company's offerings. It remains a viable choice if your project demands a legacy framework like the .NET Framework. However, if you can choose, I highly recommend opting for the latest iterations, such as .NET Core versions like .NET 6 or 7. These versions offer enhanced support and features, making them preferable choices. I advise you to consider the specific requirements of your project.

Before .NET, we used C++ and C and many other languages that did not use CLR. They were not memory-managed like the .NET Framework. Shifting to managed solutions which have CLR brings productivity to the development team. We don't need to consider garbage collection and memory in .NET because the framework will handle it. This increases our productivity. If somebody is using C# or VB.NET, you need one installer from Microsoft to take care of everything. Two different languages will translate to the same intermediate code. The only competitor to .NET in the market is Java.

.NET Framework consumes much memory. The .NET Core framework requires less memory and offers firm support.

It is very easy to learn compared to other languages.

Five years ago, I would have rated it eight or nine. But now, since we already have superior products, I rate it six or seven due to the need for more portability and many legacy component dependencies.

I rate the latest version of .NET an eight to nine out of ten.

We are creating a certain solution. There is a client, the desktop Windows application, that is used within the organization. And behind it, there are certain Windows services, and there are kinds of Windows services that run on a scheduled basis. And there's a logic behind which kind of receives data in the form of files or APIs from different endpoints. So, basically, we are working with multiple external entities, and those entities, in some cases, communicate with us via API. And in some cases, they send us files, which are huge files, via a file gate. 

So, .NET, in that sense, we are using after receiving those files, we process them as normal. Then, there is communication with multiple endpoints to actually update certain backend gate systems within the organization. It's a good, big implementation for business purposes of the .NET framework. And the team that I'm a part of is responsible for creating those new requirements that we get from business. We create the solutions for that within this application as part of that application. Also, we are maintaining that application in the production environment, which is being used for running the business.

When we talk about .NET development, we use Visual Studio IDE to create these things. In recent years, there have been a lot of improvements in Visual Studio 2022. It would be a daunting task to list all of the features that have benefited us, as it would require a lot of time and effort. However, there are definitely many improvements year after year in .NET development. 

One of the improvements is the ability to make changes to the code while debugging applications within the environment, and the changes will be reflected in real-time. There are also many other improvements, such as the integration of Git and Azure DevOps.

The integration with DevOps tools, such as Azure DevOps, Jira, and GitLab, would be a valuable addition. This would allow us to manage Azure DevOps work items and artifacts, as well as pull requests, within our Visual Studio environment. These features would make it easier to develop, deploy, and test applications.

I have been using this solution for 18 years. I'm currently working on an application that uses .NET Framework 4.7.1. This is an older version of .NET Framework, and Microsoft has since released .NET Framework 4.8.1, which is the latest version. We are also using .NET 7 in the same solution, which is the latest version of .NET. The APIs that we have implemented using .NET 7 are hosted in a Service App cluster on Azure.

It is definitely stable. If I compare it with previous versions, it is constantly improving.

It's completely scalable. We can use it in any way. If we are working on a PaaS platform, then whatever offerings of the PaaS platform tell us to scale. So, if we are working on an application using the .NET Framework, then whatever the best product that we would talk to is offering for scaling up the application in the .NET Framework is completely compatible.

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten. We have around a thousand end users using this solution. We use it every day in our organization.

The initial setup is very easy. I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy to set up. 

.NET framework is a very small package that can be installed in a few minutes on development environment or on production environment.

Just one person is enough for the deployment and maintenance of the solution. Any new updates are automatically pushed in if you configure it; that way, they are automatically pushed into your environment, and you will be notified that new updates are available, and you can easily install it.

Within my organization, we use tools from Microsoft. So we get a subscription from them. And for running that application in a production environment, we have their different tools' licenses from Microsoft, and we also have Azure subscriptions, like a couple of Azure subscriptions, one for the non-prod environment and one for prod environments.  

I have worked with Azure tools like Azure IaaS services, virtual machines, and SQL Server, and Azure PaaS services, like Azure SQL.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Microsoft .NET Framework is a development platform.

The web development and Microsoft Windows service development capabilities are among the most valuable features offered by the Microsoft .NET Framework. This language platform is highly user-friendly, with plenty of online examples and information available, as well as a robust development environment.

The integration could improve in Microsoft .NET Framework.

I have been using Microsoft .NET Framework for 13 years.

The solution is stable.

I rate the stability of Microsoft .NET Framework a ten out of ten.

The solution is scalable if it is set up correctly.

We have one person who uses this solution.

I rate the scalability of Microsoft .NET Framework an eight out of ten.

I have not used the support.

I have used a Java development environment. 

The initial setup of Microsoft .NET Framework is straightforward. The process can take 10 to 30 minutes depending on the components installed.

The solution can be implemented by one person. We did the deployment.

The solution is worth the money. We have received a return on investment. Approximately 30 percent annually.

The support is an extra cost when purchasing the license. The price of the solution is overall reasonable and paid annually or every three years. Additionally, they have a monthly license. The cost is approximately $1,000 per user.

There are other licenses that can be purchased and add-ons, such as enterprise licenses and third-party add-ons.

I rate the price of Microsoft .NET Framework a six out of ten.

The solution does not require maintenance.

I would advise others to use the newest version of the solution. It is a good solution overall.

I rate Microsoft .NET Framework a nine out of ten.

I use the product only for automation.

Our usage was limited. Microsoft .NET Framework is a good investment.

The solution is technical. A new user cannot use it. The solution is difficult to learn if someone is learning it for the first time. It is difficult for non-technical people.

The tool was stable.

Around 20 to 25 developers used the tool in our organization.

The solution was deployed by the vendor.

Only developers can use the tool. We have used Microsoft .NET Framework for web-based applications. If someone is planning to use the tool for the first time, they must learn the basics of .NET. They must go through some manual or training. The solution is easy to use if the user is a developer or some technical person. It’s a good application. Overall, I rate the product a six to seven out of ten.

I use the solution to create websites and web services. Different departments in the whole organization use the solution. Networking, production lines, and payment departments use it.

The Windows Communication Foundation is the biggest advantage we get from the .NET Framework.

We use P storage on-premises, the middleware from Microsoft, and sadly, Microsoft is no longer improving that product. That's why we are transitioning to SAP and the cloud platform integration from SAP. It's been evolving for a few years, and they've been going to Azure for reports, which is a bit of a shame, and instead of migrating to Azure, we are migrating to a different solution.

I've been working with the solution for around ten years.

The solution is stable. It is more stable than SAP.

The solution is very scalable. It is a backend solution, so there are no direct users. Our organization is enterprise-level.

The customer service is very good.

Positive

The solution is really easy to install. It's out of the box. When you install a new server, the .NET Framework is there. A big advantage of the solution is that everything updates automatically every month, such as security updates with the Windows server updates. This is in contrast to SAP.

It takes about ten minutes to one hour to install, depending on the configuration.

For .NET Framework is doing, it is the right price. It's far less expensive than SAP when looking at the numbers. We have an annual license, and we pay extra for extended support. The product is nearing the end of its life so we have to pay extra.

I keep seeing new things coming with the .NET Framework, and Microsoft is improving a lot. In terms of functionality, .NET Framework is better than SAP. I recommend the solution.

I rate the .NET Framework a nine out of ten.

However, the product is nearing its sunset, and we think that by 2028, we won't get support anymore, so we have to decide to migrate the platform.

We use Microsoft .NET Framework for custom application development.

Microsoft .NET Framework’s most valuable features are web application development, RESTful services development, security, performance, and less memory footprint.

The product’s reliability needs improvement. There could be fewer footprints for compiled code. Additionally, its memory management could be better. The performance should be increased as well.

We have been using Microsoft .NET Framework for eight to ten years.

It is a stable platform. Although, we encounter memory consumption issues when there are a lot of concurrent requests. It should give error messages when it is about to reach the capacity limit.

The scalability depends on the architecture of the custom application.

We don’t need to contact Microsoft as many technical forums and tech programs can help and guide us with any issues.

The product’s initial setup process is not complicated. Although, you need to have technical expertise for implementation. The time taken for deployment depends on the project requirements. For a complex project, it takes one to two days. Whereas for a simple application, it takes a few hours. It requires two to three executives for deployment and five executives, including admins, engineers, and developers, for maintenance.

The product can be deployed in-house by getting guidance from the Internet.

Microsoft .NET Framework is free of cost. Microsoft also provides its open-source version. One can quickly deploy it if they have a server license. 

J2EE Framework is good but complicated to deploy and requires more skills. It is not straightforward compared to Microsoft .NET Framework.

I advise others to hire technical expertise or learn the technical aspects to understand the product. It will help them leverage all the features.

I rate it a nine out of ten.