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Q&A with Philip Japikse: Top Tips for Moving to ASP.NET Core 2 for Web Apps and RESTful Services
Microsoft MVP, consultant, author and trainer Philip Japikse knows ASP.NET inside and out and, in his session, "ASP.NET Core 2 for Mere Mortals" at the upcoming Live! 360 conference in Orlando, Florida, he'll walk attendees how to move their Web apps forward with ASP.NET Core 2. We recently got a chance to talk with Japikse in which he shared some of his top tips for this transition, among other advice:
What is the No. 1 thing developers need to know before moving to ASP.NET Core 2 for their Web apps and RESTful services?
The number one thing is that it isn't a "port." In other words, there isn't a migration path from MVC5/WebAPI2.2 to ASP.NET Core. It is foundationally different. While some of the controller and model code can be clip-board inherited (copied from old project and pasted into the new project), there are so many new features and paradigms with ASP.NET Core that it's best to start from scratch. All new projects that we do (with my consulting) are ASP.NET Core, but if you have a working MVC5/WebAPI2.x solution, you might not want to move it to Core.
What's No. 2?
Performance and features. (OK, so No. 2 and No. 3). Performance is now part of the definition of done with the team, not something to be bolted on after the fact.
"We are noticing significant (order of magnitude) improvement in perf with our ASP.NET Core and Entity Framework Core applications."
Philip Japikse, Microsoft MVP, MCSD, CSM, and CSP Developer, Coach, Author, Teacher
We are noticing significant (order of magnitude) improvement in perf with our ASP.NET Core and Entity Framework Core applications. The second is features. There are so many new features in ASP.NET Core (like the new configuration system, tag helpers, view components, the built-in DI system) that make development in ASP.NET Core modern and current. This really isn't your mother's ASP.NET. By the way, I cover all of the new features in this talk.
What's your favorite feature(s) of ASP.NET Core 2 in this context?
Almost too many to list here. Certainly the new environmental awareness, the new configuration system, pluggable middle ware, tag helps , view components ... OK, I admit I really like all of the new features in ASP.NET Core.
What limitations may developers run across?
Legacy code is the biggest issue. Many of my customers have old references to in-house projects that are old, and aren't compatible with .NET Standard. Having to pull in those references can be problematic (although much better with the Windows Compatibility pack).
What overall improvements are developers going to see when they move their apps and RESTful services to ASP.NET Core 2?
Performance. Not only from the running application, but also from a development perspective. ASP.NET Core is truly a modern development platform, and helps to create amazing applications instead of getting in the way (as MVC5/WebAPI2.2 could). This is due to the fact that ASP.NET and EF Core are a complete re-write from ASP.NET and Entity Framework, so a lot of the baggage was left behind.
Want more? Don't miss Phil's Hands-On Lab "Develop an ASP.NET Core2 and EF Core 2 App in a Day," also at Live 360!
About the Author
Becky Nagel is the former editorial director and director of Web for 1105 Media's Converge 360 group, and she now serves as vice president of AI for company, specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. Find her on X/Twitter @beckynagel.