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.NET vs API Platform: What are the differences?
Introduction
Here are the key differences between .NET and API Platform.
Programming Language Compatibility: .NET is primarily used with languages like C#, while API Platform is based on Symfony, which is built with PHP. This difference in programming language compatibility can affect the developer ecosystem, tools, and libraries available for each platform.
Architecture and Approach: .NET is a framework developed by Microsoft that follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architectural pattern, focusing on building applications using the .NET ecosystem. On the other hand, API Platform is designed as a set of tools and libraries for building REST and GraphQL APIs, emphasizing flexibility and ease of API development.
Community and Support: .NET has a strong community with extensive documentation, tutorials, and support provided by Microsoft. The API Platform community, although growing, may not be as extensive, leading to differences in available resources and community-driven plugins or extensions.
Development Environment: .NET provides integrated development environments like Visual Studio, which offer comprehensive tools for developing, debugging, and deploying applications. In contrast, API Platform can be set up in different development environments like PHPStorm, Sublime Text, or other editors, offering flexibility but potentially requiring more manual configuration.
Ecosystem and Integration: .NET ecosystem includes various Microsoft products and services like Azure, SQL Server, and more for seamless integration. API Platform, being built on Symfony, integrates well with the Symfony ecosystem, which includes bundles, components, and libraries specifically tailored for Symfony applications.
Cost and Licensing: .NET is free to use, but certain features may require licenses or subscriptions, especially for advanced functionalities or enterprise-level support. API Platform, being open-source and based on Symfony, is free to use and can be extended using third-party bundles or custom development without additional licensing costs.
In Summary, .NET and API Platform differ in programming language compatibility, architecture, community support, development environments, ecosystem integration, and cost considerations.
Decided to change all my stack to microsoft technologies for they behave just great together. It is very easy to set up and deploy projects using visual studio and azure. Visual studio is also an amazing IDE, if not the best, when used for C#, it allows you to work in every aspect of your software.
Visual studio templates for ASP.NET MVC are the best I've found compared to django, rails, laravel, and others.
Pros of API Platform
- Headless1
- Microframework1
- Symfony1
- Open source1
- Composer1
- Easy to use1
- Automated api-docs1
- Restful1
Pros of .NET
- Tight integration with visual studio271
- Stable code261
- Great community189
- Reliable and strongly typed server side language.182
- Microsoft140
- Fantastic documentation119
- Great 3rd party libraries89
- Speedy80
- Great azure integration71
- Great support63
- Highly productive34
- C#34
- Linq34
- High Performance31
- Great programming languages (C#, VB)28
- Open source25
- Powerful Web application framework (ASP.NET MVC)19
- Clean markup with razor16
- Fast16
- Powerful ORM (EntityFramework)15
- Dependency injection13
- Constantly improving to keep up with new trends10
- Visual studio + Resharper = <310
- High-Performance9
- Security8
- TFS8
- Huge ecosystem and communities7
- Integrated and Reliable7
- Job opportunities7
- Light-weight6
- Lovely6
- Asynchrony5
- Variations5
- {get; set;}5
- Concurrent4
- Support and SImplicity4
- Default Debuging tools4
- Useful IoC4
- Scaffolding4
- Entity framework4
- Blazor3
- F♯2
- Nuget package manager2
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Cons of API Platform
- Easy only for easy task like normal crud on entity2
Cons of .NET
- C#13
- Too expensive to deploy and maintain12
- Microsoft dependable systems8
- Microsoft itself8
- Hard learning curve5
- Tight integration with visual studio3
- Not have a full fledged visual studio for linux3
- Microsoft itself 🤡🥲1