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Microsoft .NET Framework VS Visual Studio Community

Compare Microsoft .NET Framework VS Visual Studio Community and see what are their differences

Microsoft .NET Framework logo Microsoft .NET Framework

Microsoft.

Visual Studio Community logo Visual Studio Community

Try our free, fully-featured, and extensible IDE for creating modern developer apps for Windows, Android, & iOS. Download Community for free today!
  • Microsoft .NET Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-14
  • Visual Studio Community Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-24

Microsoft .NET Framework features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    .NET supports cross-platform development, allowing developers to build applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Performance
    .NET offers high performance with optimizations and compiled code that run efficiently on the .NET runtime.
  • Large Ecosystem
    The .NET ecosystem includes a vast range of libraries, frameworks, and tools that can accelerate development.
  • Strong Community Support
    There is a strong, active community and extensive documentation available, which makes troubleshooting and learning easier.
  • Rich Base Class Library
    .NET provides a rich base class library with extensive functionalities for tasks such as database interaction, XML handling, data manipulation, and more.
  • Security
    .NET provides robust security features, including code access security, role-based security, and cryptographic services.
  • Asynchronous Programming
    .NET has built-in support for asynchronous programming, which can improve application performance, especially in I/O operations.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft .NET Framework

  • Memory Consumption
    .NET applications can be memory-intensive, which might be a concern for applications where resources are constrained.
  • Windows-Centric History
    .NET has historically been Windows-centric, and although now cross-platform, some older components and libraries may not be fully portable.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners, the depth and breadth of .NET can be overwhelming, making the learning curve steep.
  • Installation and Setup
    The .NET runtime and associated tools can require significant setup and configuration, especially in environments with stringent policies.
  • Versioning Issues
    Multiple versions of the .NET Framework can coexist, potentially leading to compatibility issues.

Visual Studio Community features and specs

  • Free Access
    Visual Studio Community is available for free for students, open-source contributors, and small teams, making it accessible to a large group of users without financial burden.
  • Rich Feature Set
    It offers a comprehensive suite of development tools for various programming languages and technologies, which includes code editing, debugging, and testing tools.
  • Extensive Language Support
    Supports a wide range of programming languages such as C#, VB.NET, F#, C++, Python, JavaScript, and more, providing versatility for different projects.
  • Integrated GitHub Support
    Seamlessly integrates with GitHub, which facilitates version control and code collaboration directly from the IDE.
  • Strong Community Support
    Being part of the larger Visual Studio ecosystem, it benefits from a vast community of developers who provide support, resources, and extensions.

Possible disadvantages of Visual Studio Community

  • Limited to Smaller Teams
    The free version is restricted for use by small teams and non-enterprise organizations, which can limit usage for larger enterprises.
  • Performance Overhead
    Visual Studio Community can be resource-heavy, requiring substantial system resources, which might affect performance on less capable machines.
  • Complex Interface
    The interface can be overwhelming for new users due to its complexity and myriad of features, potentially leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Lacks Some Advanced Features
    While it offers many features, it lacks some of the more advanced capabilities and tools available in the enterprise versions of Visual Studio.
  • Limited Technical Support
    Users of the Community edition have limited access to official technical support compared to the paid versions, which could be a drawback for resolving critical issues.

Microsoft .NET Framework videos

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Visual Studio Community videos

Introducing Visual Studio Community 2015

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual Studio Community)
Developer Tools
73 73%
27% 27
Text Editors
35 35%
65% 65
IDE
43 43%
57% 57
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Visual Studio Community should be more popular than Microsoft .NET Framework. It has been mentiond 146 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Microsoft .NET Framework mentions (88)

  • Using Pulumi for Rapid Deployment
    From a Powershell will verify that the installation was successful. I already had .NET8 installed but the guide has a link if you need to install it. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Supercharge Your Productivity with the .NET CLI
    If not, you'll have to download the SDK of your choice from Microsoft. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Setting up a .NET Core Web API project on a Mac using Terminal
    Download and Install .NET SDK: Visit the .NET SDK Download Page and download the latest stable version for macOS. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • The Dotnet, Nx, AnalogJs (Angular) Stack is here - Part 1
    Note: A couple of assumptions before we start: you should have the .NET SDK installed already (I used version 8) and dotnet-ef. If you don't have these tools, please install them first: dotnet SDK and dotnet-ef. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Detecting Anomalies with .NET and ML.NET: A Practical Guide
    Step 1: Install the .NET SDK Make sure you have the .NET SDK installed. If you don’t have it yet, download it here. Trust us, it’s easier than assembling IKEA furniture. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
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Visual Studio Community mentions (146)

  • An Animated Introduction to Programming in C++ [Full Course]
    There are practice problems in each section so that you can practice while learning from the content. These are in the 'Hands-On Practice' section in each section. Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are tools that allow you to write your own programs. There are some great, free C++ IDEs out there like Visual Studio, Xcode, and CLion. The simplest way to get started is to use a web-based IDE. Replit works... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Getting Started with .NET and Docker Tutorial
    You also need Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition which you can get from visualstudio.microsoft.com. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Visual Studio vs. Visual Studio Code: An In-depth Comparison
    Visual Studio has multiple versions and are priced differently based on your development needs. Visual Studio Community Edition is the free version recommended by Microsoft for individual needs. Other versions with more advanced features are paid for through subscriptions. These versions include Visual Studio Professional and Enterprise Edition. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Visual Studio Community — Fully-featured IDE with thousands of extensions, cross-platform app development (Microsoft extensions available for download for iOS and Android), desktop, web and cloud development, multi-language support (C#, C++, JavaScript, Python, PHP and more). - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Writing and Running Swift Code without Xcode on Mac and Windows
    First, you'll need Visual Studio Community (at the time of writing this blogpost, Visual Studio 2022 is the most recent version). Get it via winget install --id=Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.Community -e , or directly via Visual Studio Community if you don't have winget installed. Winget (winget) is a package manager for Windows like chocolatey and scoop. They have been compared numerous times. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual Studio Community, you can also consider the following products

Oracle Mobile Application - Oracle Mobile Application framework or Oracle Mobile Application development platform is a hybrid mobile framework for rapidly developing single source applications for many platforms and devices.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

WompMobile - WompMobile offers tow kind of functions – first creating new mobile apps and secondly converting the websites into mobile applications.

vscode.dev - Now when you go to https://vscode.dev, you'll be presented with a lightweight version of VS Code running fully in the browser.

OutSystems - Build Enterprise-Grade Apps Fast.

Ionide - Visual Studio Code & Atom plugins for F# development