.Net Ecosystem
Differentiating .NET Framework, .NET Core, ASP.NET, .NET, and ASP.NET Core
.NET Framework (More or less Legacy)
- Description: The original .NET implementation, primarily for building Windows applications.
- Platform: Windows-only.
- Web Framework: Includes ASP.NET for web development.
- Use Case: Legacy applications, Windows-specific applications.
- Runtime: Uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR).
.NET Core (Legacy)
- Description: A cross-platform, high-performance framework for building modern applications. It was the basis for the later unified .NET platform.
- Platform: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Web Framework: Includes ASP.NET Core for web development.
- Use Case: Modern applications, cross-platform development.
- Runtime: Uses CoreCLR.
.NET
- Description: The unified platform that encompasses .NET Core and future versions (.NET 5 and beyond).
- Platform: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Web Framework: Includes ASP.NET Core for web development.
- Use Case: Modern applications, cross-platform development.
- Runtime: Uses CoreCLR.
ASP.NET (Legacy)
- Description: A web framework for building web applications, part of the .NET Framework.
- Platform: Windows-only.
- Use Case: Legacy web applications built on the .NET Framework.
- Integration: Tightly coupled with the .NET Framework.
ASP.NET Core
- Description: A cross-platform, high-performance web framework for building modern web applications.
- Platform: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Use Case: Modern web applications, cloud-based applications, cross-platform development.
- Integration: Part of the .NET platform (formerly .NET Core).
Summary
- .NET Framework: Windows-only, legacy applications.
- .NET Core: Cross-platform, modern applications (merged into .NET from .NET 5 onwards).
- .NET: Unified platform for modern, cross-platform applications.
- ASP.NET: Web framework for the .NET Framework, Windows-only.
- ASP.NET Core: Cross-platform web framework, part of .NET for modern web development.