tl;dr
For new projects, .NET Core (and its successors .NET 5+, or 6 and 7) and ASP.NET Core are generally recommended due to their cross-platform capabilities, performance improvements, and active development. The .NET Framework is a bit old, but still relevant for maintaining and extending existing Windows-based applications.
Windows App SDK is a very modern SDK introduced in Windows 11 that supports different OS versions of Windows, compared to Windows SDK, which is specific to different versions, with both good parts from UWP and Win32 APIs.
.NET Framework
- Release and Maturity: Released in 2002, it's a mature and robust platform.
- Platform: Windows-only.
- Use Case: Best suited for Windows applications, including Windows Forms, WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), ASP.NET Web Forms, and ASP.NET MVC applications.
- Libraries and Tools: Extensive libraries and a broad range of tools available due to its long history.
- Deployment: Primarily used for on-premise deployments.
ASP.NET Web Forms
Part of the .NET Framework, it provides a traditional event-driven programming model for building web applications. It's less popular in modern development due to its tight coupling with the server-side state.
ASP.NET MVC
Also part of the .NET Framework, it introduced the Model-View-Controller pattern for web applications, promoting a more modular and testable approach.
.NET Core (.NET 5+) (.NET 6, 7)
- Release and Maturity: First released in 2016. It's a cross-platform successor to the .NET Framework.
- Platform: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Use Case: Ideal for modern, high-performance applications including web apps, microservices, cloud services, console apps, and more.
- Performance: Generally faster than the .NET Framework due to optimizations and the modular design.
- Deployment: Flexible deployment options, including containerization (Docker) and cloud-native deployments.
- Future Direction: .NET Core has been unified into .NET 5 and later versions, continuing as the future of the .NET platform.
ASP.NET Core
Part of .NET Core (and later .NET 5+), it's a cross-platform framework for building modern web applications and services. ASP.NET Core is highly modular, lightweight, and optimized for performance. It supports both the MVC pattern and Razor Pages.
Comparison Summary
- Platform Compatibility:
- .NET Framework: Windows-only.
- .NET Core / ASP.NET Core: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Application Types:
- .NET Framework: Legacy enterprise applications, Windows desktop apps.
- .NET Core: Modern web applications, microservices, cloud applications, cross-platform apps.
- ASP.NET Core: Modern web applications and services.
- Performance:
- .NET Core / ASP.NET Core: Generally faster and more efficient than the .NET Framework.
- Development and Deployment:
- .NET Framework: Traditional, on-premise.
- .NET Core / ASP.NET Core: Modern, flexible deployment options including cloud and containers.
- Future and Support:
- .NET Framework: Continued support for legacy applications but no new major features.
- .NET Core / ASP.NET Core: Active development with new features, improvements, and a focus on the future.
WinRT
- Windows Runtime (WinRT) is a platform-homogeneous application architecture first introduced with Windows 8.
- Use Case: It is used for developing Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications that run across various Windows devices, including PCs, tablets, and phones.
- Interoperability: Provides a bridge for C++, .NET, and JavaScript developers to create Windows apps with a common API.
Win32
- The Win32 API is the original platform for Windows application development.
- Use Case: Best suited for developing traditional desktop applications with direct access to Windows system resources and services.
- Legacy: While considered legacy, it remains crucial for many existing enterprise applications and system-level software.
Windows App SDK (formerly Project Reunion)
- Overview: Introduced in Windows 11, aiming at unifying and modernizing Windows app development by decoupling the API from the OS version.
- Platform: Enables the development of apps that can run across different versions of Windows 10 and later, without being tied to specific OS updates.
- Languages: Supports C++ and .NET languages (primarily C#).
- Use Cases: Best for developers who want to build modern Windows apps that are not confined to UWP but can also leverage Win32 capabilities.
- Key Features:
- Combines the best of UWP and Win32 APIs.
- Provides modern tools and libraries, like WinUI 3 for modern UI development.
- Simplifies the development of apps that need to work across multiple Windows versions.
Windows SDK
- Overview: The Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) is a comprehensive set of tools, headers, libraries, and documentation needed for developing Windows applications.
- Purpose: Provides everything needed to develop applications for various Windows platforms, including desktop, UWP, and more.
- Components: Includes tools like Visual Studio, headers, libraries, code samples, and documentation for building Windows apps.
- Compatibility: Tied to specific versions of Windows, with different SDK versions available for different Windows releases.
Universal Windows Platform (UWP)
The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a platform-homogeneous application architecture created by Microsoft and first introduced in Windows 10. The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) API is a set of APIs provided by Microsoft to develop applications that run on a wide range of Windows devices, including PCs, tablets, phones, Xbox, HoloLens, and IoT devices. Here’s an overview of the UWP API:
- Universal Nature: The key feature of UWP is its ability to create a single app package that can run on multiple types of devices.
- Platform: Windows 10 and later versions.
- Languages: Supports C#, VB.NET, C++, and JavaScript.
MSIX Packaging
- Introduced in Windows 11.
- Modern packaging and deployment technology for Windows applications.
- Features:
- Streamlines app installation and updates.
- Provides reliable and secure app deployment.
- Supports both Win32 and UWP applications.
- Use Cases: Simplifying the distribution and management of Windows applications.