🟦 1. What is .NET Core Framework? What is ASP.NET CORE MVC

 

🟦 1. What is .NET Core Framework?

.NET Core is a cross-platform, open-source, modular, and high-performance framework developed by Microsoft.
It’s used to build modern web, desktop, cloud, and mobile applications.

🧩 Key Features:

Feature	Description
Cross-Platform	Runs on Windows, Linux, macOS
Open Source	Available on GitHub
High Performance	Optimized for speed and scalability
Modular	Uses NuGet packages, so you only add what you need
Unified Development	Same codebase can target Web, Desktop, Cloud, Mobile
Command Line Interface (CLI)	Build, run, and publish using command line tools
Container & Cloud Friendly	Great for Docker, Azure, and Kubernetes

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🟦 2. Difference Between .NET Framework and .NET Core

Feature	.NET Framework	.NET Core (.NET 5/6/7/8)
Platform Support	Windows only	Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS)
Open Source	Partially open	Fully open-source
Deployment	Installed on Windows	Self-contained or framework-dependent
Performance	Moderate	High (optimized runtime)
Microservices Support	Limited	Excellent
Command-line tools	Limited	Rich CLI support
Mobile & IoT	Not supported	Supported (via Xamarin, MAUI)
Latest Development	No new versions (stopped at 4.8)	Actively developed (.NET 8 is latest)

✅ Today, .NET Core has evolved into unified “.NET” (since .NET 5).
But for clarity, when we say “.NET Core,” we refer to the cross-platform runtime introduced after .NET Framework.

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🏗️ 3. Architecture of .NET Core Framework

Here’s the layered architecture of .NET Core:

+------------------------------------------+
|          Application Layer               |
| (ASP.NET Core, WPF, WinForms, etc.)     |
+------------------------------------------+
|        .NET Core Libraries               |
| (Base Class Library - System.*, etc.)    |
+------------------------------------------+
|         Core Runtime (CoreCLR)           |
| (Just-In-Time Compiler, Garbage Collector)|
+------------------------------------------+
|       OS Platform (Windows/Linux/macOS)  |
+------------------------------------------+

🔍 Explanation:

1. CoreCLR (Runtime):

   • Executes your application.

   • Handles memory management, JIT compilation, and garbage collection.

2. CoreFX (Base Class Library):

   • Provides essential APIs like collections, IO, JSON, LINQ, threading, etc.

3. ASP.NET Core / Other App Models:

   • Built on top of .NET Core libraries.

   • You can create web APIs, MVC apps, Blazor apps, etc.

4. Cross-Platform OS Layer:

   • Platform abstraction that makes it run anywhere.

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🌐 4. ASP.NET MVC Architecture (Traditional .NET Framework)

ASP.NET MVC follows the Model–View–Controller pattern.

Browser
   ↓
Controller → Model → Database
   ↓
  View → HTML Response

🧩 Components:

1. Model:

   • Represents business logic and data (e.g., Student, Product).

   • Usually interacts with the database (via Entity Framework).

2. View:

   • User Interface (HTML + Razor syntax).

   • Displays data passed from the Controller.

3. Controller:

   • Handles user requests.

   • Calls the Model and passes data to the View.

📦 ASP.NET MVC Pipeline:

1. Request → Routing (maps URL to Controller)

2. Controller Action Executes

3. Model Interaction

4. View Rendering

5. Response Returned

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⚙️ 5. ASP.NET Core MVC Architecture

ASP.NET Core MVC is the modern and improved version of traditional ASP.NET MVC.
It is built on .NET Core — more modular, faster, and cross-platform.

Browser
   ↓
Middleware Pipeline
   ↓
Routing → Controller → Model → Database
   ↓
View → HTML Response

🧠 ASP.NET Core MVC Components:

Component	Description
Middleware	Series of components that handle HTTP requests and responses.
Routing	Matches incoming requests to specific controller actions.
Controllers	Process the request and return a View or JSON response.
Models	Represent application data and business logic.
Views	Use Razor syntax to generate HTML dynamically.
Dependency Injection	Built-in support for DI in ASP.NET Core.
Configuration & Logging	Unified system using appsettings.json and ILogger.

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🧭 6. ASP.NET Core MVC Request Flow (Step-by-Step)

[1] User sends a request
      ↓
[2] Kestrel Web Server (built-in server)
      ↓
[3] Middleware Pipeline (Authentication, Routing, Static Files)
      ↓
[4] MVC Routing → Controller → Action Method
      ↓
[5] Model → Database (via EF Core)
      ↓
[6] View Engine (Razor) generates HTML
      ↓
[7] Response sent to client

---

🧰 7. Folder Structure of ASP.NET Core MVC

MyApp/
│
├── Controllers/
│   └── HomeController.cs
│
├── Models/
│   └── Student.cs
│
├── Views/
│   ├── Home/
│   │   └── Index.cshtml
│
├── wwwroot/
│   └── (Static files: CSS, JS, Images)
│
├── appsettings.json
├── Program.cs
└── Startup.cs  (if .NET 3.1/5)

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💻 8. Example: Simple ASP.NET Core MVC Flow

Model – Student.cs

public class Student
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Course { get; set; }
}

Controller – HomeController.cs

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using MyApp.Models;

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        var student = new Student { Id = 1, Name = "Amit", Course = "C#" };
        return View(student);
    }
}

View – Index.cshtml

@model MyApp.Models.Student

<h2>Student Details</h2>
<p>ID: @Model.Id</p>
<p>Name: @Model.Name</p>
<p>Course: @Model.Course</p>

Output:

Student Details
ID: 1
Name: Amit
Course: C#

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📘 Summary Chart

Concept	ASP.NET MVC	ASP.NET Core MVC
Platform	Windows only	Cross-platform
Server	IIS	Kestrel (Self-hosted)
Performance	Slower	Faster
Dependency Injection	External (via Unity/Ninject)	Built-in
Configuration	web.config	appsettings.json
Open Source	Partial	Fully
Deployment	IIS only	IIS, Nginx, Docker, etc.

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🚀 9. What to Learn Next (as per your .NET teaching roadmap)

1. ✅ Understanding .NET Core runtime & SDK

2. ✅ Learn ASP.NET Core MVC basics (Controllers, Views, Models)

3. ✅ Learn Entity Framework Core

4. ✅ Learn Middleware and Routing

5. ✅ Authentication & Authorization

6. ✅ API Development (ASP.NET Core Web API)

7. ✅ Deploy your app to IIS, Azure, or Linux server