Key Reasons You Should Choose the .Net for Your Next Project

Software development has never been simpler and quicker than it is today. Due to the availability of some highly efficient and productive software development frameworks, the task of software developers has become quite simple. Though not that simple for us novices, it is much easier for skilled developers. 

The .NET is one such software development platform highly popular amongst software developers worldwide. .NET developers constitute a major fraction of the global software developers community. 

In this post, we will try to learn more about .NET and its major features that top .NET developers highly rely on.

Based on a survey by Statista, it was seen that the .NET (5+) was the most utilized and a first choice for the highest number of responders, i.e., 25.3 percent. Hence, it is essential to know and understand this platform better to develop the software using the IDE that most developers worldwide use. 

Let's move forward and discuss some of the most important things about the .NET framework. Let's begin by getting an overview of the .NET platform. 

A Brief Overview of the .Net Platform

.NET, formerly known as .NET Core, is a product of Microsoft launched in 2016. It is a cross-platform software development platform that runs on all the leading operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS. 

.NET is a successor to the .NET framework, which only runs on Windows. The most crucial distinction between the two is that .NET is cross-platform, while the .NET framework is not.

.NET allows developers to build software for various platforms and types. You can build mobile apps for all the leading platforms, such as iOS, Android, and Windows. You can build web apps for various platforms like Windows, Linux, Docker, and macOS. You can also build desktop applications for Windows and macOS.

In addition to the mentioned things, .NET allows developers to build cloud apps, develop 2D and 3D games, create IoT applications, and much more. Hence, we can say that .NET is one of the most versatile software development platforms available in the market.

Let's proceed and discuss some of the key features of the .NET platform. 

Key Features of .Net 

.NET is loved by software developers for its rich set of features and functionalities that help them work more productively and efficiently. Let's discuss some of the significant features of .NET briefly. 

#1 Free-To-Use and Open-Source Software

.NET is an open-source and free-to-download and use software. There is no licensing fee to use the .NET platform or any other tools provided, be it for individual or commercial use. With this platform, you get free development tools to build software for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

#2 Cross-Platform

.NET is a cross-platform app development framework that allows you to develop mobile apps for multiple platforms. Using .NET and its wide range of development tools, developers can build apps from almost the same code for different platforms, such as iOS, Android, and Windows. 

By almost the same code, it means that owing to .NET's excellent code reusability, developers can resume more than 85% of the code with slight variance across all major operating systems.

#3 Write in Multiple Top Languages

.NET lets you build your software in any of the three popular languages: F#, Visual Basic, and C#. These are highly advanced programming languages with excellent features and ease of learning.

#4 Gives Access to a Large Number of Rich Libraries

.NET comprises rich libraries that help developers extend their app functionalities effortlessly. NuGet is a package manager developed for .NET, which brings more than 300,000 packages (written programs) to the .NET platform. These packages allow app developers to add any functionality they like to their apps without building them from scratch, saving time and money.

#5 Wide Range of APIs

.NET offers a whole pool of APIs for software developers to choose from and use in their projects and boost its functionalities. You can choose any API of your choice from .NET’s rich collection of APIs named under dedicated categories. 

Some of the most popular API collections available on the .NET platform include:

• .NET
• .NET platform extensions
• Xamarin.android
• Xamarin.iOS
• Windows Desktop 
• .NET Standard
• .NET Framework
• UWP

Suggested Reading: A Must-Read Guide to Xamarin

#6 Build for a Wide Range of Platforms

The best thing about the .NET is that it allows you to build software for almost every operating station and platform. For example, if you want to develop a mobile app for several operating systems, such as Android, iOS, and Windows. .NET allows you to do so using a single codebase thanks to its cross-platform capabilities. 

Next, if you want to build a web app, you can make it for any platform, like Windows, Linux, or Docker. Similarly, you can create other types of apps, games, and microservices for the operating system you like.

#7 Highly Versatile Platform

No doubt, .NET is a highly versatile platform, looking at the wide range of software and services it allows to create through its platform. From mobile apps, web apps, desktop apps, and cloud apps to games, microservices, IoT apps, and much more, you can create all these software using the .NET. 

#8 Strong Ecosystem

.NET powered by Microsoft boasts a robust ecosystem made up of more than 5 million developers spread around the world. This strong community can benefit new professionals/developers who have just started with the platform. They can get their technical queries or platform-related queries answered in minimal time. This way, it becomes effortless to use .NET and bring the best out of it into your mobile app.

#9 Backed by Microsoft

One of the biggest perks of .NET is that it's backed by Microsoft. Hence, by choosing .NET for your project, you get your hands on some of the best products by Microsoft. You can build projects using some of the best tools developed by Microsoft, such as Visual Studio, Azure, and NuGet. 

#10 Productive 

.NET is a highly productive platform for every type of developer, be it a new learner or a highly experienced one. .NET eases the task of developers in a lot of unique ways. The most important way .NET boosts developer productivity is by providing them with some of the most powerful IDEs to build their software. 

.NET provides developers with access to Visual Studio Family, one of the most profound and trusted IDEs by Microsoft. You can choose from all three IDEs: Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and Visual Studio for MAC. All three IDEs are known to be the fastest with features like code editing, code completion, real-time collaboration with team members, and much more, which highly boost developer productivity.

#11 Superior Performance

.NET is known for offering excellent performance. .NET-based apps have a speedy response time. Based on a report, .NET applications can support up to 7.02M requests per second (RPS) compared to other leading platforms like Node.js, which can receive and support up to 0.60M requests per second.

Visual Studio Family for .NET

Visual Studio Family is a set of Integrated Development Environments developed by Microsoft. Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and Visual Studio for Mac are the three IDEs that are part of the Visual Studio Family available to all .NET developers. All .NET-based software are built on one of the three Visual Studio IDEs out of the mentioned ones.

Let’s briefly look at all three IDEs of the Visual Studio Family.

• Visual Studio

Visual Studio is an IDE developed for Windows. It can be used by .NET and C++ developers. 

• Visual Studio Code 

Visual Studio Code can be used to create software on Windows, Linux, and macOS. This robust editor is not limited to .NET but can be used for other programming languages, including Java, C++, Python, C#, Javascript, Typescript, and more.

• Visual Studio for Mac 

As the name suggests, this IDE is specially crafted for macOS. But as announced by Microsoft, this IDE will soon be retiring on August 31, 2024, adhering to Microsoft’s Modern Lifestyle Policy. 

Top Software Built on .Net 

Suggested Reading: Security Practices That Businesses Can’t Miss in Mobile App Development

Wrapping Up

.NET is a top-rated and reliable app development platform loved by software developers around the world. .NET is a highly versatile and flexible platform that supports almost all the major types of software development, be it mobile apps, desktop apps, or microservices and games development. 

.NET was found to be the most popular software development platform trusted and used by developers worldwide. It is a cross-platform app development framework that is highly popular amongst businesses looking to develop a mobile app for multiple platforms. It is open-source and free to use, i.e., without any licensing fee, which again adds to the cost-effectiveness of this platform. 

.NET benefits software developers in many ways, some of which are mentioned above in the post. All the new developers and businesses need to take good note of the mentioned points to understand .NET better and make the best use of it.