ASP.NET vs SharePoint - which one is better for web developers?

Question

I have less information about share point (only basic info). Microsoft released SharePoint for web developers. Microsoft also said SharePoint has compatibility with other .NET technologies like Workflow Foundation, WCF, etc and it's easy way to develop web sites and web apps.

Also as I know ASP.NET has compatibility with .NET technologies and C#. And it easy for every one whom at least work with C# or VB.NET.

So with these advantages of SharePoint:

1. Why we must use asp.net instead SharePoint?
2. Why Microsoft develops ASP.NET (new version 4)?
3. What's major reason to chose one of these?
4. Is really developing base-on share-point faster and easier than asp.net?

Solution 1

SharePoint is an Application that sits on top of ASP.net (3.5 SP1 in the current SharePoint 2010 - No ASP.net 4.0 will be possible). They do override a lot of ASP.net built-in functionality (they have their own .aspx Parser and Virtual Path Provider for example).

With ASP.net you have a very well documented, battle-hardened, mature and stable platform with a good API.

With SharePoint you gain a poorly documented, bug-ridden, very limited application that handles a lot of features that you would have to code yourself (e.g., User Profile Management, Document Organization and Versioning and Social Features like Commenting and Tagging), although for the most point SharePoint handles them really poorly and does not allow you to override them, which means that you spend a lot of time rewriting them anyway and trying to integrate them back.

Basically my advice as a SharePoint developer since 2006: Use it when you absolutely have to, avoid it whenever you can and stay with just ASP.net.

SharePoint is good as a simple document management and very light social system. You can quickly customize smaller parts of it and add a lot of value to your company. But in the moment you need something that even only slightly different from what Microsoft envisions, you hit a wall that you can't pass. It's great for what it does, nothing more, nothing less.

Solution 2

I am a Sharepoint Developer... And let me say that I wish it was just ASP.NET! That would be great... It brings with it it's own paradigms which are pretty complicated.

ASP.NET and Sharepoint are 2 'different' technologies. Sharepoint is mostly built with ASP.NET, and delivers ASP.NET pages to a user.

You can use either VB.NET or C# with Sharepoint.

In my opinion, Sharepoint development is only quicker if you are planning on using it's in-built lists, user management etc. Though these do take time to learn. The cool thing about sharepoint is that you can develop web parts, and re-use these web parts on multiple pages throughout the installation.

Microsoft continues to develop both ASP.NET and sharepoint because they are two different beasts, with ASP.NET pages being deliverable through Sharepoint.

As to which is best for you, you haee to make that call. Do you need Sharepoint? Or would a pre-built CMS such as DotNetNuke be better? Or even creating your own site with Windows credentials management so you can use SSO (Single Sign On).

It really depends on what you want to get out of your install. Sharepoint is expensive, and developers for Sharepoint are also expensive because of the specialist knowledge.

As a developer... (I hope my boss isn't watching!!) I much prefer to build things from scratch than to use SP, but that's my job...

Solution 3

Don't use sharepoint unless you need it, check this article: Challenges when using SharePoint compared to ASP.NET

Solution 4

If you just want to create a website, go for ASP.net.

However, if your company has a SharePoint installation and you want to integrate with that, you should go for SharePoint.

SharePoint is build on ASP.net, but has many extensions that allow data to be shared throughout the company.

However, if you are just building a website and don't need all that, ASP.net is the way to go.

Solution 5

I'll try to answer point by point:

1. SharePoint isn't a replacement for ASP.NET. It's an extension of the ASP.NET platform that simplifies the implementation of several common use cases that are mostly relevant to enterprise websites: document management, knowledge retention, collaboration etc... SharePoint relates to ASP.NET in a similar way that Wordpress relates to PHP: it's a specialized extension rather than an alternative.
2. Same explanation as in (1).
3. Use SP if the things you need to develop are in the scope of what SP provides, which is mostly enterprise solutions of one sort or another. Here's a good summary of what SP can do.
4. Again, it would be faster and easier if you're trying to develop the things that SharePoint is meant for. Also, SP isn't so well-documented, so if you're not familiar with it, you might have a slow start.

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Comments

[Michael Stum]

And because my posting sounded like a real troll posting, here is a very simple challenge: Display a list of comments from the Social Comments system. If you are member of a certain SPGroup, display a "Delete" Button next to each of them that allows you to delete a comment.

[Rev]

No, We want to make decision use SP or Asp? also is SP good for Web-app?

[Anthony Neace]

Hi, welcome to Stack Overflow. Could you edit your answer to include a relevant quote from your website -- particularly as to why the asker should not use Sharepoint? Link-only answers are typically discouraged here.