What Is .NET Core?

.NET Core is a free and open source, managed computer software framework for building modern cloud-based web applications on Windows, Linux and MacOS operating systems. It is a cross-platform successor to .NET Framework. The project is primarily developed by Microsoft and released under MIT License. .NET Core is usually a better choice if you:

• Love open source
• Your new or just learning .NET
• Want your apps to run on Windows, Linux and Mac operating system.

What You Need To Know About .NET Core

• .NET Core is a platform on top of which there are frameworks such as ASP.NET Core and Universal Windows platform that leverage and extend the features of .NET Core.
• .NET Core enables developers to build cross platform applications for operating systems such as Windows, OS X, MacOS and Linux.
• Its open-source and Microsoft accepts third part contribution to .NET Core.
• .NET Core focuses more on Web, Windows mobile and windows store applications. It currently does not support development of Desktop applications.
• The .NET Core is cross-platform an d needs to be packaged and installed independent of the underlying operating system. The developers are required to compile Nuget packages included in .NET Core.
• .NET Core supports a very light CLI for all platforms. There is often an option to switch to an IDE as well.
• .NET Core is delivered as a set of NUGET packages. It has been factored, modularized and shipped as several NUGET packages. Although the common runtime libraries are still a part of the bundle, the developer has the freedom to selectively include other libraries as per need. This makes .NET Core very lightweight. No extra baggage.
• In cases where application requires support for microservices , .NET Core is the best in this regard. It allows you to work with all microservices built with various languages such as Java, Ruby, .NET framework and others.
• .NET Core has no support for WCF services. You would always need to create a REST API.
• .NET Core is the best choice to work with docker containers.
• .NET Core doesn’t support the in-app deployment model.

What Is .NET Framework?

.NET Framework is a software development platform by Microsoft. The framework was meant to create applications which would run on the windows platform. .NET framework can be used to create both Form-based and Web-based applications. Web services can also be developed using the .NET Framework.  .NET Framework is usually a better choice if:

• Building windows client applications client application using windows forms or WPF.
• Want to avoid cases of continuous changes and upgrades.
• Are in need of extending the functionality of an existing app.
• you have an existing team of experts with extensive knowledge in .NET

What You Need To Know About .NET Framework

• .NET Framework is a self-contained development framework. The framework provides all the basic requirements for the development of applications-UI, DB connectivity, Services, APIs etc.
• .NET Framework enables developers to build applications for a single platform that is Windows.
• Its source code is public but Microsoft doesn’t allow third party contribution for it.
• .NET Framework is used to build both Desktop and Web applications. Windows forms and WPF applications are very well supported.
• The .NET Framework needs to be installed as a single package and runtime environment for windows.
• .NET Framework is too heavy for Command Line Interface. Some developers prefer working on CLI rather than IDE.
• .NET Framework is packaged as a whole. All the libraries are bundled together and shipped together. Even if you do not require any library for your application, it still comes as a part of the package.
• .NET Framework does not support the creation and deployment of microservices in different languages.
• .NET Framework is a better choice when WFC services are involved. It also supports REST services.
• Although .NET Framework can be used with a docker container, its image size is large and can only be deployed on Windows containers.
• .NET Framework does support in-app deployment model.

Also Read: Difference Between ADO And ADO.NET

Difference Between .NET Core And .NET Framework In Tabular Form

Similarities Between .NET Core And .NET Framework

• .NET architecture comes loaded with Visual studio to help independent applications, websites with interactive elements, dynamic web application and various web services.
• .NET offers Common Language Specification (CLS) that helps to define the implementation of the objects that can run everywhere. CLS is basically a subset of Common Type System (CTS), which is nothing but common way to describe all types.
• All .NET architectures have a Framework Class Library (FCL), which is basically a standard library capable of collecting the reusable interface classes and different value types.
• All .NET architecture have a virtual machine referred to as Common Language Runtime (CLR). CLR is used for running the framework and taking care of the execution of all .NET programs.