I am new to asp.net and one of my numerous doubts has to do with what program to build my applications with. I am currently using web matrix, which, I guess, is enough for simple sites, or to start with. However, I hear that the way to go is to get VS .net.
Could somenone outline the reasons for this?
How far can I go with Web Matrix?What can I do and what I cannot do? For what tasks will VS .net really save me considerable amounts of time?
Do I have to buy the complete features pack or is there different options to purchase VS .net that will offer more or less features for a higher or lower price? If that's the case, what option should I purchase to program with ASP .net and VB .net? What would be the price?
Thanks for your time, I am a newbie here so almost any comment will be welcome.
RobertoI'd have to say check out the new Web Developer Express (note that this is BETA software, but eventually it will cost in the "tens of dollars" range versus the thousands that a full version of Visual Studio will cost):
http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/vwd/default.aspx
Check out all the Express line of products. They are much more feature rich.
Thanks Darrell.
One last thing if you don't mind: I can get Dreamweaver MX 2004 free of charge. Is this product any good for developing web applications on ASP.NET?
If you're a student, you can get the Academic Edition of VS.NET for about $100. They sell it at just about every college book store. And even if you're not a student, you can find the Acedemic Edition at Amazon.com for about $200. It's the same as the Professional Edition, with all the same functionality.
Dreamweaver is a good tool for building ASP.NET Apps, but you have to code everything by hand. Dreamweaver doesn't have any code automation to help you out, and the lack of IntelliSense can make things more difficult. Plus, as your apps get bigger and more complex, you'll have to compile everything using the command line, a pain. And if you decide to sell/distribute your applications, you'll have no real way of hiding your source code. Still, there's a lot of good books at Amazon.com that will help you to build your ASP.NET apps in Dreamweaver.
Personally, I prefer VS.NET. It has drag-and-drop tools that can make your life easier when you don't want to spent hours writting the code by hand. Plus VS.NET just seems to make organization of your files and code a lot easier (especially when you have an application that consists of hundreds of files, as I do).
My advice, use VS.NET to do all of your application logic (programming), and DW for all of your design logic (graphics, html, javascript, etc...)
Thanks Synthetik242, your post was very useful as well.
Hello,
if you want to prefer VS.Net there are at least three different versions of it. If you want to get an overview of the different features and what is the best for your issues please have a look at:
Visual Studio .NET 2003 Feature Comparison
To your other question...
So how is WebMatrix different from Visual Studio .NET?
Visual Studio is a team enterprise tool. It's made to use SourceSafe, and it speaks in terms of Projects. ASP.NET Web Matrix is a file editor. It has no concept of a project.
Functionally, this isn't much of a difference. If the files are accessible via a share, they are accessible to either software product. But all of those things you think of when you think project—like database connections, project-level tasks, and the like—aren't quite the same in a file-based system.
ASP.NET code is implemented as inline rather than in a codebehind file
In Visual Studio, the normal placement of server-side script code is in a separate file, called filename.aspx.cs or filename.aspx.vb. These files are compiled to a project-level DLL that is referenced invisibly by the Web server.
In Web Matrix, the server-side code is, as mentioned above, referenced inside the ASPX file in which it is used. This reduces scalability while improving simplicity. Since the goal of Web Matrix is to increase simplicity for those who need more basic services from the ASP.NET framework, this is a good move.
The command line compiler must be used to compile class files
Although you can code DLLs, or class files, using Web Matrix, you can't compile them in the environment. Because the inline script doesn't require compilation, there was no need to add compile functionality to the software. This adds significantly to the simplicity, so I applaud the decision.
To compile a class file, you must use the command-line compiler, which isn't as hard as it sounds. To compile a VB or C# file into a DLL, you just use the appropriate compiler command:
vbc /target:library File.vbcsc /target:library File.cs
Visual Studio is a comprehensive tool; ASP.NET Web Matrix is just for the Web
VS.Net includes many features that Web Matrix doesn't, but that is to be expected in a free tool. For instance, IntelliSense isn't implemented. You can't write Windows Forms at all or use the .NET Mobile Framework to write Mobile Windows Forms. There are no enterprise features, such as Server Explorer, Task List, or SourceSafe implementation. The options for coding style are practically nonexistent. There is no automation. The list goes on.
On the other hand, VS.Net costs $1,000 and is a massive install. If all you need to do is add a response form to a Web site, this is the tool to do it, without a doubt.
Some final thoughts
Microsoft's development environment has been a confusing mess since Visual Basic Version 2. In the Internet age, the InterDev tools became known as NotePad++ because the active elements were so immature. Tools like Macromedia's UltraDev were looking like much more realistic tools for coding in the advanced version of Windows DNA. And when the massive Visual Studio .NET went on the market, it seemed that the same would be true for simple programming in .NET.
ASP.NET Web Matrix may change that. With its tightly coded, simple design—and the price tag—it has the potential to make life much easier for a number of Web site programmers and Webmasters in the real world. Download it and give it a try. At 1.2 megabytes and zero dollars, you don't have much to lose.
HTH,
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