Professional ASP.NET 3.5 SP1 Edition: In C# and VB

Appendix D. ASP.NET Is Greater Than ASP.NET MVC

By Rob Conery, Scott Hanselman, Phil Haack, and Scott Guthrie in Wrox Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0 (ISBN: 9780470384619)

With the introduction of ASP.NET MVC, developers are now asking themselves, "Should I be doing this now all the time?" or "Are you saying that ASP.NET MVC is better than the ASP.NET I have been using the past number of years?" This appendix addresses these questions and others.

For an author, this is a very difficult topic to write about. It's not difficult technically, nor is there a lack of things to say; it's the subject matter that needs to be addressed: Is ASP.NET MVC better than Web Forms?

A volatile subject, to be sure, and this subject is not a comfortable one for most developers who have been working with ASP.NET Web Forms for a long time. If you are reading this appendix, then it is most likely something you're trying to have answered right now.

As with all approaches to application architecture, much of the answer is subjective. Most important, Microsoft is not suggesting that ASP.NET MVC is better than, nor will it replace, ASP.NET Web Forms. In fact, both ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC are fundamental parts of ASP.NET and both will continue to be promoted, available, supported and loved for the foreseeable future!

You will need to make up your own mind on this matter, and that's what this chapter is all about — giving you the information you need to decide if ASP.NET MVC is indeed a better Web framework ...