Chapter 2. Razor and Microsoft WebMatrix

The previous chapter discussed Microsoft’s various forays into web development platforms and editors and how each of them hits or misses with a given crowd. Microsoft WebMatrix targets a somewhat wide range of developers, but its real sweet spot is the content-driven website comprising a suite of simple yet dynamic web pages.

Introducing ASP.NET Web Pages

For easy authoring of these dynamic web pages, Microsoft introduced ASP.NET Web Pages, a straightforward page-based architecture different from existing ASP.NET technologies, such as Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC. Using the Web Pages approach, developers create their websites one page at a time, adding logic and behavior inline as needed.

This approach mimics other platforms and languages, such as PHP, but Web Pages is backed by the .NET Framework and its popular programming languages, C# and Visual Basic .NET. Using WebMatrix, developers can start with simple web pages, but when their sites require a bit more complexity, they can easily access the full power of the .NET Framework.

Get Programming Razor now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.