ASP.NET Web Development Company

Entity Framework Core (EF Core) is Microsoft's ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) for .NET, which allows developers to query and manipulate database data using C# objects and LINQ rather than writing SQL directly. EF Core handles database schema creation, migration management, change tracking, and query translation. It is the right default choice for most enterprise applications: complex object graphs with relationships, write-heavy operations where change tracking saves manual SQL, and code-first development where the C# model drives the schema. Dapper is a lightweight micro-ORM that executes raw SQL and maps results to C# objects with minimal overhead. Dapper is the right choice for: read-heavy reporting queries where raw SQL is more efficient than EF-generated LINQ, existing stored procedures in SQL Server, and performance-critical hot paths where EF's overhead matters. Many projects use both: EF Core for CRUD operations and Dapper for complex read queries.

MediatR is a .NET library implementing the Mediator pattern - specifically CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation) in ASP.NET applications. Instead of controllers calling services directly, controllers send a Command or Query object through MediatR's mediator, which routes it to the appropriate handler. This pattern has several benefits: (1) Controllers become thin - they only validate input, send the command/query, and return the response; all business logic is in handlers. (2) Cross-cutting concerns (validation, logging, authorisation, caching) are implemented as MediatR pipeline behaviours that run for all commands/queries without duplicating code in every handler. (3) Handlers are independent classes that are easy to unit test without the web framework. (4) CQRS separation allows read and write models to evolve independently - the query side can be optimised for reads (using projections, Dapper, or read replicas) independently of the command side.

Blazor is ASP.NET's framework for building interactive web UIs using C# and .NET instead of JavaScript. It allows C# developers to write frontend code without learning JavaScript, sharing models and validation logic between frontend and backend. Blazor Server renders components on the server and delivers UI updates via SignalR; Blazor WebAssembly (WASM) runs in the browser. Use Blazor when: your team is exclusively C# with no JavaScript expertise; the application is internal (intranet) where initial load time is less critical and SignalR connectivity is reliable; or you want a uniform .NET codebase with no JavaScript context switching. Prefer React or Angular when: public-facing applications need fast initial load times (Blazor WASM has a larger download than equivalent React apps); excellent SEO is required (Blazor Server can serve SEO but requires server-side rendering configuration); the team has strong JavaScript/TypeScript skills; or integration with JavaScript-heavy ecosystems (rich charting libraries, Google Maps, payment widgets) is needed.

ASP.NET Core has the most comprehensive built-in security framework among major web frameworks: (1) Authentication - ASP.NET Core Identity for username/password, Windows Authentication for AD integration, JWT Bearer for API authentication, OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect for external identity providers. (2) Authorisation - built-in RBAC (role-based), policy-based authorisation for complex rules, and resource-based authorisation for per-resource permission checking. (3) CSRF protection - antiforgery token automatically validated on POST forms in MVC. (4) XSS prevention - Razor automatically HTML-encodes output by default; raw HTML requires explicit @Html.Raw(). (5) SQL injection - Entity Framework uses parameterised queries by default; raw SQL requires explicit DbContext.Database.ExecuteSqlRaw() with parameterised queries. (6) Secrets management - ASP.NET Core Data Protection for encryption, Azure Key Vault for production secrets, user secrets for development. (7) HTTPS - HSTS middleware, HTTPS redirection middleware, certificate management via Let's Encrypt or Azure App Service.

.NET 8 is Microsoft's Long-Term Support (LTS) release - supported for 3 years (November 2024 to November 2027). It is the recommended choice for enterprise applications that require long support lifetime and stability. .NET 9 is a Standard-Term Support (STS) release - supported for 18 months. It includes the latest performance improvements, new language features (C# 13), and new framework capabilities, but reaches end-of-support sooner. For new enterprise applications: .NET 8 LTS is the safe default for organisations that need predictable, long-term support. For teams that want the latest capabilities and are comfortable updating annually: .NET 9 STS. Microsoft's typical cadence: even-numbered releases are LTS (.NET 6, .NET 8, .NET 10); odd-numbered are STS (.NET 7, .NET 9). Every release of ASP.NET Core delivers meaningful performance improvements - .NET 8 and .NET 9 are both significantly faster than earlier versions.

Legacy ASP.NET Framework migration strategy depends on the application type: Web API applications (using WebAPI 2) are the easiest to migrate - similar concepts, updated to ASP.NET Core Web API. MVC 5 applications migrate to ASP.NET Core MVC with moderate effort - most patterns are similar, but Global.asax, HttpModules, and HttpHandlers must be rewritten as middleware. Web Forms applications have no direct equivalent in ASP.NET Core - they must be rewritten as Razor Pages or Blazor. Migration approaches: (1) Big bang - full rewrite of the application targeting ASP.NET Core. Higher risk but cleaner result. (2) Incremental - use YARP (Yet Another Reverse Proxy) to route some endpoints to the new ASP.NET Core application while others remain on the legacy application. Gradually migrate endpoints. Lower risk for large applications. (3) New development on Core, maintenance on Framework - all new features built in ASP.NET Core; legacy code left on Framework until it can be replaced. Choose the approach based on application size, custom module count, and business tolerance for risk.

The standard Azure architecture for ASP.NET Core applications: Azure App Service or Azure Container Apps for hosting (App Service for simpler PaaS deployment; Container Apps for containerised microservices). Azure SQL Database for managed SQL Server (eliminating DBA overhead, with built-in high availability and backups). Azure Blob Storage for file storage (user uploads, documents, reports). Azure Service Bus for reliable message queuing between application components. Azure Key Vault for secrets management (connection strings, API keys - never in appsettings.json). Azure Active Directory or Azure AD B2C for identity (B2C for consumer-facing applications with social login; AD for enterprise internal applications). Azure CDN or Azure Front Door for global content delivery. Application Insights for telemetry (request tracing, exception logging, performance metrics, dependency tracking). Azure DevOps for source control and CI/CD pipelines. Azure Cache for Redis for distributed caching and SignalR scale-out.

ASP.NET Core MVC web application development, ASP.NET Core Web API, Blazor application development, Entity Framework Core, Azure cloud deployment, SignalR real-time applications, legacy ASP.NET Framework to Core migration, and enterprise portal development.

.NET 8 (LTS - Long Term Support, supported until November 2027) for projects requiring long-term stability, and .NET 9 (latest) for projects wanting the newest performance improvements and language features.

Yes. Evolution Infosystem migrates ASP.NET Framework MVC 5, Web API 2, and Web Forms applications to ASP.NET Core 8 - using YARP (reverse proxy) for incremental migration of large applications and full rewrite for smaller ones.

Yes. Evolution Infosystem deploys ASP.NET Core applications to Azure App Service, Azure Container Apps, and Azure Kubernetes Service - with Azure SQL, Azure Key Vault, Application Insights, and Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines as standard.

Clean Architecture with CQRS using MediatR - domain entities in the core with no external dependencies, application services as command/query handlers, infrastructure (EF Core, Azure services, external APIs) at the outer layer, and the web layer (controllers, minimal APIs) as an infrastructure adapter.