This Is Why MVC Is The Most Popular Approach For Building ASP.NET Solutions

MVC is implemented in object oriented style, and invented initially for traditional GUI applications. Hence, it had to be mapped well into the web applications.

MVC, as you already may have heard by now is the short for Model, View and Controller pattern.

  • Model – Model is all about the state of your application, what it is all about. For example, if your application is a forum, the Model will have Class::DBI objects for representing threads, users and postings. The Model does not deal with HTML or web servers, what it does is, supply query and also the ways to change that state.
  • View – View is all about the representation of the UI. You can have many Views within an application. Consider the same forum example once again. Here, the Views would act as templates for rendering the full thread including the positioning page, the login page etc.
  • Controller – The user actions on the View will be sent to the Controller. The user requests, after they are received by the Controller, will be translated into actions. These actions will be displayed in appropriate Views.

Thus, the MVC pattern helps you create applications that separate the different aspects of the application – input logic, UI logic & business logic. Thankfully, this allows for a loose coupling among the different aspects of the application, allowing you to focus on one aspect of the application at a time. The loose coupling also aids in parallel developement making it easier for several developers to work on a single project. For example, one developer works on View, the other on the controller logic and a third developer on the business logic of the model.

It is worth noting that Microsoft has overhauled the older version of ASP.NET MVC framework and adopted ASP.NET Core MVC. The new framework provides you with exceptional flexibility and gives you an edge to competition while developing high-end web applications.

Here are other reasons why you should go for this approach:

1) Cross-platform capability

Understandably, when you are developing products, you would want it to run beyond Windows platforms like Mac, Linux etc. The development tool for this framework allows developing applications for both Mac and Linux with the help of Visual Studio’s component Visual Studio Code. Developers can easily leverage this cross-platform capability to develop a one for all application for all platforms.

2) Hosting independence possible through this approach

This is another benefit of the tool’s support of cross platform functionality. This enables the applications to run on web servers apart from Internet Information Services. This is the major difference between ASPNET core application development and ASPNET application development. Because, in the latter, IIS was the default server.

3) Built-in support provided for dependency injection

This facility was there for other versions of ASP.Net MVC, but in ASP.NET Core MVC, Dependency Injection is built-in, meaning, it is wired in from the beginning. And this can be used to support the coding structure.

4) Full control over the application

The framework provides full control to the developer to create dynamic websites that gives them full control through a pattern-based approach. The separation of concerns makes agile development possible. The feature also allows for Test-Driven Development process that lets you create sophisticated applications integrated with the latest web standards. This enables you to unit-test the app during each phase, making the development process fast and flexible. To do this, all you need to do is use a compatible NET framework.

5) The open source feature makes coding flexible

ASP.NET makes it possible for you to maintain modularity across project development environment. This promotes simple coding and the flexibility to framework components and libraries as and when called for, especially during application deployment.

6) MVC adds discipline

Discipline is something the developers need while writing and structuring code. If you are a follower of the principle “convention over configuration”, then this approach promotes it. According to the principle, a developer needs to specify only those unconventional aspects within the application, making it easier to make decisions, while not losing flexibility. And it is a major help in maintaining the app and promoting better testability.

7) Applications with searchable URLs

The MVC approach provides extensive support for ASP.Net routing enabling you to develop apps integrated with comprehensible and searchable URL. URLs support URL naming patterns that work well for both SEO and REST (Representational State Transfer). ASP.NET routing is a powerful URL-mapping componentand is greatly useful in developing dynamic apps.

A few things to note while taking this approach:

More objects and classes

While creating an MVC application, take care to note that it will result in more classes and objects when compared to page-based system. The good news is that an MVC system will be easy to expand or adapt as the codes will be separated better.

The model pattern of the MVC acts as an extra safety layer

Take care to note that the Model part of the pattern should not do any business-logic, because that is not the original purpose of the pattern. This is the reason why the logic code is written in the controller, the creation and manipulation of data is performed within the Controller with the help of functions. This provides a kind of safety because the user is totally oblivious to the Model and the schema of the database.

You have to know what goes where

Sometimes dividing the Controller and the Model can be hard, so it would be ideal to have as minimal Controller as possible (as it’s duty would be to translate HTTP requests into Model actions and select the right View).

Conclusion

The components in the framework can be replaced or customized according to requirement. You can add your own engine, URL routing policy, action-method parameter serialization, etc.

The framework approach, additionally, comes with the following features, apart from providing support for ASPNET features – URL authorization, output and data caching, forms authentication and Windows authentication, membership and roles, session and profile state management, health monitoring, the configuration system, and more.

Interesting links about the topic:
Overview by Microsoft about ASP.NET
MVC, Web API Explained

Pictures: Flicker.com/ Eric Liu/ Blue Coat Photos


The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at www.Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.

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