Pros and cons of different MVC frameworks for .NET

Question

With all the hype around MVC (and rightly so) I've decided to give it a go myself and write my first .NET MVC web application. With a few options to choose from I was wondering which framework MVC do people recommend.

• Microsoft ASP.NET MVC
  • The above with alternative view engine
• Castle Project - MonoRail
• MVC#
• Maverick.NET

It seems like the first two are really the top contenders. Also some DI container is a natural complement to MVC - MonoRail would come with one already while ASP.NET MVC could perhaps work with something like Unity.

Answer 1

I think the best option would be Microsoft ASP.NET MVC for the following reasons:

• It's official.
• It will have integration with visual studio 2010.
• It was developed by people who work for Microsoft.
• It's free.
• It has a large fan base of developers that swear by it.
• It has lots of documentation and information surrounding it.
• The power of .NET at your fingertips.
• Not limited to developing in one language.

Answer 2

Microsoft ASP.NET MVC

pro : you can take advantage of .net and your experience with asp.net

Answer 3

ASP.NET MVC comes with all the common DI frameworks available on code-project, and it is pretty easy to do it yourself, too - I rewrote the StructureMap one to support some specific scenarios (picking the SM configuration out of the route data).

So that deals with the main differentiator you mentioned in the question ;-p

I'd use ASP.NET MVC, personally... but it could come close either way. I simply expect ASP.NET MVC to be more mainstream, what with the "official" card leading to more books/community/etc.

Just look at the tags count here on SO; asp.net-mvc (and similar) 4k+; monorail... hard to find...

Answer 4

Better you read the article :

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/10/14/asp-net-mvc-framework.aspx

This gives a better understanding on MVC its Pro and cons.

Answer 5

It essentially comes down to what you're looking to get out of it

That said it's hard to beat asp.net mvc as it's * actively maintained * consistent/easy to use naming conventions ( if that doesn't make sense, feel free to skip this :) * well documented with source code/tutorials/handon labs et al * scales well out the box with other options available

I had not heard/seen the last 2 choices and while i did browse those links, i'm not going to invest my time learning/reading about them considering asp.net mvc is out there - my 0.02