Approaches and Difficulties in Transitioning ASP.NET Applications to .NET Core 7

The introduction of .NET Core 7 has ushered in a host of enhancements and features, prompting numerous organizations to contemplate the upgrade of their current ASP.NET applications to this iteration.

Consequently, the migration journey has a range of tactics but also comes with numerous obstacles that development firms must surmount to accomplish a seamless transition.

In this piece, we’ll look at the distinctions in architecture between ASP.NET and ASP.NET Core, dissect the transformative alterations that developers may encounter during the migration process, and even highlight the reasons compelling developers to embrace this shift.

The Architectural Contrasts Between ASP.NET and .NET Core

Though the syntax and programming model are somewhat alike, ASP.NET and .NET Core differ significantly in their underlying architecture. ASP.NET Core stands as a versatile, modular, and lightweight open-source framework, renowned for its performance and scalability.

In contrast to ASP.NET's heavy reliance on System.Web.dll and its close integration with IIS, ASP.NET Core generally adopts the Kestrel web server and boasts the flexibility to be hosted on diverse platforms, including macOS and Linux.

ASP.NET Core applications can also leverage IIS, specifically on Windows systems, unlocking advantages such as Kernel Mode Windows Authentication and direct file transmission. 

Another key distinction is the middleware pipeline. In ASP.NET Core, this pipeline is fully customizable, empowering developers to fine-tune individual middleware components according to their specific needs.

Converting Web Forms

Trying to convert ASP.NET Web Forms applications which are closely integrated with System.Web.dll and rely on IIS, into ASP.NET Core is a common pain point. To complete this migration, you’ll need a full-scale redevelopment of the application within the ASP.NET Core framework. This will take your time and money fast, especially if you don’t give it enough attention, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve got an experienced team on your side. 

To address this issue, you’ll want to pinpoint the most important parts of the application and prioritize their conversion. Another way you could solve it is by separating the business logic and other various aspects from the Web Forms pages, streamlining the code within the pages and simplifying the migration

URI Decoding Differences

ASP.NET Core and ASP.NET Framework have differences in URI decoding. In ASP.NET Core, when decoding %2F, the entire path is unescaped except for %2F itself, since converting it to '/' would alter the path structure. For that reason, it can only be decoded after splitting the path into segments. 

As Microsoft outlined, to get the HttpRequest value.Url in ASP.NET Core 7, you should use "new Uri(this.AspNetCoreHttpRequest.GetEncodedUrl());" to prevent the Uri from misinterpreting the values. This is necessary to handle URI decoding discrepancies between the two frameworks.

Transition Strategies for Migrating ASP.NET Applications to .NET Core 7

The migration of ASP.NET applications to .NET introduces several challenges. Here’s how they can be solved:

1) Validate Integration Tests Involving Application Layer Protocols:

During the migration process, you’ll want to execute integration tests to validate the continued functionality of application layer protocols like HTTP or FTP. These tests help uncover any compatibility issues that might arise because of changes in the underlying framework or libraries. For instance, when migrating HTTP-based APIs, rigorous testing should cover endpoint functionality, request handling, and response formats. Similarly, for applications employing FTP for file transfers, integration tests should confirm the seamless operation of file uploads and downloads.

2) Choose the Appropriate Migration Approach within the Development Process:

When thinking about migrating to .NET Core, development teams have two primary options:

• Slice-by-Slice Migration: Dividing the application into smaller slices, each incrementally migrated. It’s a gradual transition and simplifies the problem-solving process.

• Layer-by-Layer Migration: In this method, entire application layers are migrated one at a time. It’s good for applications with minimal interdependencies and well-defined layers. 

Choosing between these approaches depends on how complex your project is, how proficient the team is, and the organization's risk tolerance. In some cases, a hybrid approach combining both methods may expedite the migration process.

3) Refactor the Application in the Current Development Branch:

Before migration, it’s best to refactor the application within the current development branch. This involves code cleanup, the removal of deprecated APIs, and addressing design flaws. 

4) Keep the Code Structure for Branch Comparisons:

Maintaining the application's code structure throughout development is essential for streamlining the migration process. This makes it easy to identify issues that stem from code changes. Developers can leverage version control practices to create feature branches aligned with the existing code structure, facilitating tracking and review before merging into the main branch.

5) Thoroughly Test the Migration Across Various Dimensions:

Comprehensive testing is paramount during the migration process, encompassing:

• Performance Testing: Evaluate application performance under a range of workloads to confirm it meets performance expectations post-migration.

• User Acceptance Testing: Have stakeholders validate the application's behaviour from their perspective, aligning the migrated application with business objectives and user expectations.

• Integration Testing: Assess the interaction between different components to detect issues arising from changes in interdependencies.

• Unit Testing: Validate individual components to ensure their functionality remains intact.

The Takeaway

Moving to .NET Core 7 is one part of a major evolution in the world of web development. While there are a ton of benefits for those undergoing the transition, it demands careful planning, skilled development teams, and a systematic approach to overcome the challenges. By following the outlined strategies and best practices, businesses can migrate successfully, ultimately reaping the rewards of a more modern and adaptable development framework.

Written By Ben Brown

—

ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to Fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.

8 Trends in .NET Development in 2023

There’s so much opportunity for .NET developers in 2023 when it comes to growth and innovation. With that said, as user demands grow, so too does the pressure to enhance .NET applications. Of course, we’re seeing Microsoft consistently innovate the framework to empower .NET developers. However, gaps in updates can be big setbacks for companies and stakeholders, leading to a chain of functional setbacks and unmet expectations. To avoid this, grasping the latest .NET trends is crucial. 

Commonly, the gaps disrupt 5 key areas; performance, compatibility, documentation, security, and third-party dependencies. These missing pieces can expose security vulnerabilities in applications. Given the prevalence of cyber attacks, this is typically enough for companies to reevaluate their applications. 

How Relevant is .NET in 2023?

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey from last year unveiled that ASP.NET Core & ASP.NET are the favoured web frameworks. 

With that said, here’s a look at some of the hottest trends in .NET development right now that are shaping the way developers enhance applications to mitigate these risks:

1) ML.NET

Machine learning has taken center stage, and Microsoft's ML.NET framework is at the forefront of this transformation. By integrating machine learning in the .NET ecosystem, developers can infuse their applications with AI-driven insights and access pre-built models that span across applications, everything from natural language processing to image recognition.

Additionally, ML.NET is open-source, which means the framework is continuously evolving and benefitting from the collective expertise of the development community. The last thing that should be noted is just how user-friendly this platform is for developers of all skill levels. That aspect comes from its graphical user interface (GUI) called Model Builder, which is a tool that integrates into Visual Studio. The GUI allows developers to build, train, and ship custom machine learning models in their .NET applications.

2) Cloud-native Development

Leveraging cloud computing in app development is an approach born out of the reliance, we could even say “attractiveness”, of cloud computing environments. Creating and managing applications in this environment is a developer's paradise. It’s scalable, it’s flexible, and it provides resources on demand.

Cloud-native development breaks applications down into microservices that scale on their own which in turn makes the application more adaptable and responsive to user demand. 

3) .NET MAUI for Native Apps

Creating native applications for different platforms is very intense as every developer knows. .NET MAUI lets you create native mobile and desktop apps with C# and XAML. It’s beating out Xamarin. Forms and is meant to build apps that run on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows from a single shared codebase.

MAUI uses .NET 6 as a foundation, offering a consistent runtime and framework for crafting applications from a range of platforms. This integration utilizes contemporary capabilities like hot reload, which enables real-time code adjustments without necessitating a complete app rebuild. MAUI lets developers create apps on either PCs or Macs and upon compilation, then turns them into native app packages. 

For instance, MAUI constructs Android apps using C#, which is subsequently converted into an intermediate language (IL), then just-in-time (JIT) compiled into a native assembly upon app launch.

4) ASP.NET Core

Originally introduced in 2016, ASP.NET Core is a far more advanced version of .NET where developers can build websites and web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It stands as an open-source framework tailored for crafting cloud-based applications. This framework is a reimagined edition of ASP.NET, and it features architectural enhancements to build a modular structure.

Unlike ASP.NET, the Core version has cross-platform adaptability and the development process is a lot more streamlined. Its framework integrates MVC and Web API, alongside the inclusion of Razor Pages for simplified creation of page-centric applications. Additionally, it offers a lightweight and efficient HTTP request pipeline and is compatible with hosting on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

5) Blazor

Microsoft created Blazor as a means to build web apps using .NET and C#. The idea is that developers can write client-side web UI experiences using HTML, CSS, and C# instead of relying heavily on JavaScript.

Blazor presents two methods of hosting: Blazor WebAssembly and Blazor Server.

Blazor WebAssembly: In this approach, the entire application operates within the user's browser. The application is fetched as a WebAssembly binary and executed within the confines of the browser. This facilitates a dynamic user interface, akin to conventional single-page applications built using JavaScript.

Blazor Server: In this alternative, the application's visual elements are generated on the server side and then conveyed to the client through a live connection. User interactions are managed by the client-side code, which then relays them back to the server for processing. This model does streamline the client-side experience which makes it ideal for scenarios demanding real-time updates or when client-side resources are more limited.

6) Xamarin for Mobile Development

Xamarin is a cross-platform mobile development framework that developers can use to build native iOS, Windows, and Android apps using C#. It uses a single codebase for building apps across multiple platforms, which can save time and resources. This trend is you’ll see continue to grow as more businesses look to build mobile apps for multiple platforms.

7) Movement Towards Open-Source

What you’ll find with most tools nowadays is that they’re open-source models, which are primarily driven by Microsoft's efforts and the desire for flexibility and community-driven improvement. Also, many businesses are using open-source software internally and contributing to open-source projects which has been a big driver in the adoption of open-source in .NET development. 

8) .NET in IoT

Given the proliferation of IoT networks for security and automation in various enterprises, the demand for compatible applications has surged. In response, .NET enables the construction of applications specifically for IoT devices and sensors. It also provides a specialized framework, known as the Nano framework, created for crafting applications for embedded devices.

The libraries .NET offers are good for interactions between applications and a range of IoT input devices, sensors, System-On-Chip components, RFID elements, GPIO, I2C, and port interfaces.

Moving Forward as a .NET Developer

C# and .NET programmers are highly sought after by both startups and major tech corporations. For large-scale applications, these technologies are very commonly used which makes being proficient in them a superpower for developers in 2023.

Written By Ben Brown

—

ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to Fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.

Cause, Effect, Direction and Destiny… Where are you heading to?

Bear this in mind: every action we take, either conscious or unconsciously, a thought, a decision, any action (or lack of it), is a cause you set in motion.

Simultaneously, each Cause will always be paired with a corresponding Effect. 

Now, if that action is sustained in time will start creating a Direction, and we already know that every Direction will eventually lead to a Destiny.

 If we are not aware of the Actions we’re taking, the ultimate destination we would arrive to will surely take us by surprise –and not the kind of surprises we tend to like.

All of our Actions are permanently molding our Destiny.

Luckily for us, there is a lag of time from the moment we start screwing up and the moment when we finally create that Destiny; it doesn’t manifest itself instantaneously, it will take us some serious and constant screwing up to have all those effects piling up enough to produce tangible manifestations. 

There are however two sides to this time lag coin: One –we could call it the “favorable” one, is that it will take more than just one wrong action to ruin our lives. 

The other side, the “less-favorable” one, is that we will also need to stock some well-directed actions in order to generate the positive results we in deed are expecting. It will take some momentum. 

We cannot change months, even years of wrong behavior with just a couple of well-directed action days. It would be just like trying to stop a guy sliding down a water slide… 

If we were to catch him near the beginning? Well, it might work. 

Half way down? … Possible. 

But down to the end of the slide? At that speed?

No way, forget it  (and that’s why they put the pool there, you know?)

Think about it.

Stay Strong!

One of the core values we have as a company is to inspire and empower people in all aspects of their lives. Additionally, if you want to read about our Custom Software Solutions and Consulting Services, please visit www.isucorp.ca, or book a meeting to review your software project.