The .NET Framework is Microsoft’s framework for building desktop and web applications. But it hasn’t received any new updates since 2019. Is the framework REALLY dead? Should you look for alternative solutions like windows tools for developers to develop applications in 2021? In this post, you will find all the details.
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What is .NET Framework?
.NET Framework is a platform for building and running desktop and server-side applications on Windows. It is compatible with different languages, including C#, F#, and Visual Basic. On the desktop, one of the UI solutions with .NET Framework is called WPF. For the web one of the .NET Framework solutions is called ASP.NET.
Is .NET framework really dead?
Back in 2019, Microsoft announced that the .NET Framework 4.8 would be the last release of .NET Framework. Also, the company declared that the successor of .NET Core 3.0 would be known as .NET 5.0. In other words, .NET Core would replace the .NET Framework. Eventually, .NET 5.0 was rolled out in November 2020. However, it does not contain all of the same features that .NET Framework did at the time of this writing.
With .NET 5.0, Microsoft aims to transform the .NET and .NET Core into a new cross-platform framework. However, there are some drawbacks. Developers have been using ASP.NET Web Forms for years to build web UIs. It is no longer supported on .NET 5.0. Instead, you would have to use Blazor. Even Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), the traditional communication framework for Windows, is deprecated. So, you will be forced to use alternative solutions, like gRPC or CoreWCF. This means there is no significant technical debt around legacy apps built-in .NET Framework.
Overall, Microsoft is unifying .NET and .NET Core frameworks by making drastic changes. So, you can no longer use the key features like the way you do with the original platform. In this sense, the .NET Framework is dead.
Microsoft’s controversial move on .NET framework had infuriated a large number of developers around the world. They feel that there is a significant gap between release and stability in the products of the software development giant.
One of the Y Combinator users, known as @TheRealDunkirk, vividly described the issue:
My problem with these kinds of Microsoft technology evangelism articles/videos is that it always seems like Microsoft has juuuust gotten their new hotness to work, and is telling the world that it’s awesome, and ready for production. Then you go to implement it, and as soon as you leave the perfect world of their demo, it all falls apart, and THEN you find out the docs were written for the beta version, and no longer apply, so you’re left guessing at the right invocation signature for the method you need.
What is the best alternative to .NET framework?
There are different alternatives to .NET Framework such as Electron and Delphi. However, the best one for the Windows operating system is Delphi (whitepaper). Unlike .NET framework, it is providing new releases and support for more than 26 years continuously. It also supports Windows, Linux, and Mac through it’s FMX framework. You can even build mobile applications for Android and iOS with FMX.
Why Delphi is the best alternative to .NET framework?
- Safe Future: Delphi has been evolving since 1995. It is being updated constantly. There is no possibility of seeing it abandoned anytime soon.
- .NET Compatibility: Delphi supports a compiler and a base class for .NET framework. So, you can build native .NET applications with the same class library and IDE.
- High Performance: Delphi is super-fast and well suited for graphics and math-intensive application development.
- GUI Designing Made Easy: Delphi supports a powerful GUI designer, which makes the process of creating amazing interfaces pretty straightforward
- Well Documented: Delphi supports comprehensive documentation. So, you can understand different aspects easily.
- Web Services: Delphi offers a wide variety of support for web services through REST and SOAP.
Should I use Delphi in 2022?
Right now, Delphi is the best alternative to .NET framework. It boasts powerful features and delivers a great performance. But more importantly, it will continue to receive support in the coming years. So, you should strongly consider Delphi for developing powerful applications in 2021.