Windows and Web Application

bungpeng

bungpeng

Senior Contributor
Joined
Sep 10, 2002
Messages
906
Location
Malaysia
I would like to develop a client-server application, should I develop using VB.NET (Windows Application) or ASP.NET (Web Application)?

Is there anything ASP.NET cannot do but VB.NET can? Why don't all people develop application in ASP.NET? because it can run either in Intranet or Internet.
 
An ASP.NET application is for when you want to have a web
front-end to a database or something like that. ASP.NET
applications are meant to be browsed in a browser.

A Windows application can still communicate over networks and
the Internet, but the UI is in an application form.

From what you said, it sounds like you want to use a Windows
application. Could you try to be more specific with what kind of
client-server application you're referring to?
 
Actually I did developed many application either Windows or Web Application. I think that Web Application can do whatever Windows Application can, do you agree?

Advantages of Web Application are much more than Windows Application, for example: No setup require for Client machine, No need to handle printer, easy for multimedia support, Interface is more flexible, can run on Internet and Intranet....

So, why we need Windows Application? Is it something that we can't handle in Web Application? I know that the main problem of Web Application is "Stateless", but in real world, is it so important?
 
Once again, it depends on what kind of application you're making.
If you feel a Web application is better suited for whatever you're
making, then go for it.
 
A big advantage to WinForms is the rich client experience. Meaning, nice grids (hierarchical, editable, etc.). To get the same thing in a browser requires IE or a high version of netscape (which still doesn't support everything IE does).

The deployment problems have been greatly reduced for most WinForms apps. You should check out some of the deployment samples to see what I mean (auto-updating client DLLs for instance).

To create a (very simple) setup in .NET for WinForms merely requires creating a setup project.

Hooking to a printer in WinForms may be more complicated than the browser version, but I've run into *many* problems printing from a browser. Try telling a client that they must change their user's browser print setting just to turn on/off certain header/footer styles. And your HTML table's nice background colors for column headers and such don't print without going to the Advanced tab of IE's Tools.

I'm not trying to point you one way or another. Only by knowing what both WinForms and WebForms has to offer can you make the right choice. There certainly isn't one choice that will work for all apps.

-nerseus
 
I understand exactly what you trying to said, but it is still not a big issue right?

1. To replace client-server application, I can make sure the user use Internet Explorer browser, so I can use Active-X control in my application.

2. No matter how easy the deployment for WinForm apps, it always cannot easier than just a Internet Explorer browser to run my application

3. We can control the printing page, for example: we use white background for all report

I understand of course there are some disadvantages, but if we compare with advantages, I don't think those disadvantages is a big issue.

Maybe one more issue is that, developing Windows Application is much more easier than Web Application, right?
 
Whether WinForms or WebForms is easier is mostly preference and current knowledge. It sounds like you might already know web programming (ASP or just HTML) so you might start with that.

It sounds like you've given it a lot of thought and WebForms will work for you. Whether it's the best choice or not, none of us here can tell you that. The best we can do is tell you some general pros/cons for each choice.

Good Luck :)

-Nerseus
 
Back
Top