Pros and Cons of ASP.NET Hosting
One of the toughest decisions you will ever make in life is where to host your website as well as the platform it runs on. The process is often time consuming and downright frustrating. Things get even more challenging when your plans call for creating a data-driven website with dynamic pages. When considering that there are a number of web hosting companies offering technologies that range from CGI and PHP to Perl and Ruby on Rails, you may find yourself utterly confused and scratching your head. Dynamic web development tools are widely available but in this article we will focus on the pros and cons of ASP.NET.
A Closer Look at ASP
Famed for its popular Windows desktop and server applications, Microsoft delved into the arena of server-side programming with ASP. Short for Active Server Pages, ASP is similar to dynamic programming languages such as PHP but slightly more advanced. For example, it consists of various objects that allow you to generate web pages and serve them to clients based on individual needs. The major difference is that the language requires an IIS-based server application such as Windows Server 2003 or 2008, Microsoft’s answers to the Apache web server. ASP is efficient at basic web design and advanced development, making it the first choice for many businesses.
The Next Generation
ASP.NET represents the next generation of Microsoft’s server-side scripting evolution. Instead of upgrading Active Server Pages for added functionality, ASP.NET is an entirely different language and not simply a new version of ASP. Hence the name, ASP.NET is based on ASP and the Microsoft NET Framework. It provides a programming interface that allows anyone who is proficient with Visual Basic and other Microsoft-based development tools to easily create dynamic web pages. ASP.NET has evolved quickly as web hosts like IX Web Hosting now offer the latest version, ASP.NET 3.5.
If you are familiar with Microsoft-based client-side programming, there is a good chance that you will excel at server-side development with a powerful tool like ASP.NET. The language allows you to merge a variety of existing components including C++ and Java with ASP.NET web pages. Aside from its power, ASP.NET is designed to enable easy database integration and development. You can still rely on your raw development skills while benefitting from WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors that make the process is even easier. When using either an SQL Server or Microsoft Access database, ASP.NET can reduce the development time dramatically.
ASP.NET offers advanced functionality but it comes at a much steeper price than open-source technologies such as PHP and Perl. Because the web host must acquire additional licenses, the price for an ASP.NET hosting plan tends to higher, often significantly more than its ASP counterpart. The good thing is that this amazing tool can save a lot of time on the development process, especially if you are already proficient with Microsoft client-side programming. On the other hand, if you aren’t well versed with Microsoft development tools, ASP.NET probably wouldn’t be a good move. Outside of price, the learning curve is steep as the language is very distinct from other technologies. In this case, you would be better off with an open-source tool as they are more affordable and often easier to code with.
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