Introduction to .NET Core

.NET Core is the up to date version of .NET Framework, which has the following characteristics.

1. Cross Platform: Supports and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems
2. Free & Open Source: .NET Core source code project is available on GitHub. Any developer can get involved in .NET Core development.
3. High Performance Runtime (used in the production of many high scale apps)

.NET History

In 2002, Microsoft released .NET Framework 1.0, a development platform for creating Windows apps. Today .NET Framework is at version 4.8 and remains fully supported by Microsoft.

In 2014, Microsoft introduced .NET Core as a cross-platform, open-source successor to .NET Framework. This new implementation of .NET kept the name .NET Core through version 1.0 which was released on 2016. The next version after .NET Core 3.1 was named .NET 5.

New .NET versions continue to be released annually, which include significant new features and often enable new scenarios.

.NET Framework vs .NET Core(.NET)

.NET and .NET Framework share many of the same components and you can share code across the two. Some key differences include:

1. .NET is cross-platform and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. .NET Framework only runs on Windows.
2. .NET is open-source and accepts contributions from the community. The .NET Framework source code is available but doesn’t take direct contributions.
3. .NET does not support desktop application development and it rather focuses on the web, windows mobile, and windows store. .NET Framework is used for the development of both desktop and web applications as well as it supports windows forms and WPF applications.
4. .NET Core supports the development and implementation of micro-services and the user has to create a REST API for its implementation. .NET Framework does not support the development and implementation of microservices but it supports the REST API services.
5. .NET Core offers high performance and scalability. .Net Framework is less effective in comparison to .NET Core in terms of performance and scalability of applications.
6. .NET Core does not have features like Code Access Security. Code access security feature is present in .NET Framework.

.NET Standard is a formal specification of .NET APIs that are available on multiple .NET implementations. The motivation behind .NET Standard was to establish greater uniformity in the .NET ecosystem. To know more about .NET Standard, you can visit the .NET Standard by Microsoft.

When to use .NET Framework or .NET Core?

NET Core is to be used for the server application when –

1. There is cross-platform need.
2. Targeting microservices or using Docker containers.
3. Need of high performance and scalable systems.
4. Side by side need of .NET versions per application.

.NET Framework is to be used for the server application when –

1. Application is to be built to run only on Windows.
2. If application uses .NET framework technologies not available for .NET Core.
3. Applications that are already running on .NET Framework.