Benefits of Using the .NET Framework

.NET provides advantages for everyone involved with the

application-development process. The discussion in this section takes into

account the people who will be directly affected by you choosing to use the

.NET Framework. When making the decision to go with .NET, you will need to

consider the benefits for the users, developers, and managers involved with

the project.

What's in It for Users

Users will be able to get fast information using XML Web Services and by

collaborating via the Internet. Their personal information may be stored in

one central database, and they can access it from their work machine, home

machine, or maybe even their cell phone.

What's in It for Developers

The .NET Framework allows developers to build the types of applications

that users demand. With a common set of system tools, they will be able to

write code once and have it delivered to a wide range of devices faster

than ever.

Instead of developers having to learn complicated tools such as XML and

SOAP, the .NET Framework wraps up these interfaces into an easy-to-use

object-oriented structure. This accelerates the learning curve for new

developers while allowing advanced developers to create Web applications in

a fraction of the time they could before.

Because installations are much easier, time-to-market will diminish for

newly developed applications.

What's in It for Managers

Managers are often faced with too many projects, not enough time, and not

enough programmers to get their projects done. Because most of the core

services are already in place within the .NET Framework, programmers will

be able to create applications faster than before, thus allowing more

projects to be completed.

In a large corporate environment, managers may also be faced with the

challenge of integrating many disparate systems. Using XML can help these

different systems talk back and forth. Before the .NET Framework, if

systems needed to run across the Internet, getting outside the corporate

firewall with proprietary protocols or binary data was difficult, if not

impossible. The use of XML in all transmissions within the .NET Framework

ensures that you can talk across an open standard such as HTTP.

As companies grow, the need to scale distributed applications becomes an

issue. In the .NET Framework, scalability is built in to all core services.

Threading across all languages will help with this scalability as well.

Security is another area that will help put managers' minds at ease. There

are many different security models in the .NET Framework that should

satisfy almost anyone's needs.

.NET also offers benefits for managing personnel resources. For instance,

training is always an issue when advanced developers use proprietary or new

technologies and new developers are brought in to maintain these systems.

The .NET Framework's OOP approach makes learning its classes much easier.

Additionally, with so many languages that can use the .NET Framework,

managers will be able to utilize many different programmers with different

language skills. Yet, all programmers can use each others' code. This is

the ultimate in flexibility and productivity from a manager's standpoint.