Difference between ASP.Net, C#.Net and VB.Net?

Question

Hey,

I just need clarification about something.

I am currently job hunting - I put my CV on Monster on Monday and have had about 8 agencies phone up about jobs they have available. One of them said that he notices VB.Net is on my CV but asked if I know ASP.Net. I replied that ASP.Net encompasses both VB.Net and C#.Net - as far as I know these are the two main sections of ASP.Net. Is this right? Was he talking nonsense or have I misunderstood the whole concept of .net for the last several years?

I think (or hope) I am right and he is wrong - I mean he is simply an agent working for a recruitment agency in the IT industry, so he is not necessarily an expert in the field and is simply trying to find me a job.

If both are wrong then please feel free to put me right.

Regards,

Richard

Answer 1

VB.Net and C# are programming languages.

ASP.Net is a Web Development SDK/Framework.

You write code in a programming language and you use a SDK to speed up development.

.Net is a framework which you use when programming in vb.net, C# or any other language which can be compiled into msil.

Answer 2

c#.net and vb.net are languages for using the .net technology (you choose your favorite).

asp.net is the web part of this technology

Answer 3

You can know VB.Net, but do WinForms development and know nothing about ASP.NET.

Answer 4

Well, to beggin with, C# and VB are languages, where ASP.NET is a framework...

You should run away from places where recruiters don't even know what they talk about.

Answer 5

C# and VB.Net are both programming languages that can be used when accessing the ASP.Net framework, rather than ASP.Net encompassing them.

Answer 6

As Bill Murray Ernie Hudson once wisely said, "If someone asks you if you are a god, say YES!" Since this was a recruiter, they almost certainly have no idea what the distinction is. They are just checking boxes off a list.

Answer 7

I replied that ASP.Net encompasses both VB.Net and C#.Net - as far as I know these are the two main sections of ASP.Net. Is this right? Was he talking nonsense or have I misunderstood the whole concept of .net for the last several years?

You talked nonsense. The interview would have been over there with me.

VB.Net and C#.Net are LANGUAGES, like C, Smalltalk etc.

ASP.NET is a framework for making web applications. It is part of the ,NET framework, but if you read the langauge specifications for VB.NET or C# then you find not a single reference to ASP.NET in them. Or any other part of the framework except low level things (IDisposable, IEnumerable used for using and foeach, for example).

There are other langauges you can use - ANY langauge that is compilable to .NET bytecode can use ASP.NET (or any other framework, like WInForms, WPF, the nice System.Data namespace for accessing databases).

To compare your answer with cars, you just said the main element of a car is the brand of the fuel station. No relation at all.

Answer 8

The caller is partially correct. Even if you know VB.NET, it is not necessary that you know ASP.NET. You might be playing around with VB.NET console applications or using it for Windows based applications.

Even though VB.NET or C# or whatever are languages you can use to work on ASP.NET Framework, I would advice you to mention like this:

1 year experience on VB.NET (Windows-based Application)

and if you know ASP.NET

1 year experience on ASP.NET Framework (Language: VB.NET)

I may be wrong, but I do like this.