What is the difference between ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC?

What is the difference between ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC?

When comparing ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC, it's important to understand the key differences between the two approaches for developing web applications on the Microsoft .NET framework.

ASP.NET Web Forms:

ASP.NET Web Forms is a declarative framework that allows developers to build web applications using a drag-and-drop approach. It is based on event-driven programming model where controls are defined in the aspx page and their events are handled in the code-behind file. Web Forms provides a familiar programming model for developers coming from a WinForms background.

ASP.NET MVC:

ASP.NET MVC is a more lightweight and modern framework that follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern. It separates the application into three main components - Model (data logic), View (UI logic) and Controller (request handling). MVC provides more control and flexibility over the HTML markup and allows for easier unit testing and separation of concerns.

Main Differences:

• ASP.NET Web Forms is event-driven and uses a stateful model, while ASP.NET MVC is based on the MVC pattern and is stateless.
• Web Forms abstracts the request-response model, making it easier to build complex UIs, while MVC provides more control over the generated HTML output.
• Web Forms is best for rapid application development and quick prototyping, while MVC is preferred for larger and more complex applications that require maintainability and testability.
• Web Forms has built-in server-side controls and view state management, whereas MVC requires manual implementation of these features.

Overall, the choice between ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC depends on the project requirements, developer expertise, and preference for control and flexibility in web application development.