VB.NET vs ASP.NET

[mcnews]

i could use some input.
i need some guidelines to use when trying to decide whether to develop
an app using desktop windows application with VB.NET or intranet web
application with ASP.NET.
it seems the word from microsoft and elsewhere is that browser based
apps will have the longest shelf life because everything is going that
way. hard to tell if this is just wishful chatter or if microsoft has
been watching SUN and IBM too closely.
at any rate, web based apps still seem to bring on a lot of hassles
that desktop based apps do not have like maintanining web servers and
components that force the developer to rely on many things outside of
their immediate control - especially if developing for a large
enterprise even if only a small group of users will actually use the
app.
just like to get a feel from experienced users who have developed both
desktop and web apps in enterprise or large network based companies.

thanks much,
mcnewsxp

[Mark Newmister]

Obviously, part of the decision involves the type of applications you are
developing. If your applications are reference/text based then you may opt
for a brower-based solution - as this platform is ideal for that
presentation. OTOH, If the applications are GUI intensive then you may want
to take a look at Smart Client technology which combines the power and
flexibility of both:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclien...n/default.aspx

In a nutshell, smart clients allow you to deliver a rich GUI experience
while maintaining the flexibility of retrieving the data from a web server
(via web services). Retrieving data from a web server allows the clients to
be completely mobile and eliminates most of the hassles of traversing
proxies and firewalls. Also, IMO, when compared to standard client server
applications, this approach facilitates the recommended practice of
separating the GUI layer from the business and data layers. Plus, you don't
have to worry about all of the extras that ASP.NET usually requires like
sessions, HTML, javascript, etc. The only potential drawback is that the
desktop machines require that the .NET CLR be installed.

[Cowboy \(Gregory A. Beamer\) [MVP]]

The benefit of a web application is the ability to change all of the code
without having to push new builds to users. You lose the rich GUI in the
process, as HTML is rather restrictive, even with DHTML and JavaScript.

You can increase the flexibility of a desktop app in a couple of ways.

1. Put more of the code on a server, as a service, and use web services
(ASMX or Remoting)
2. Use the Update Application Block (free download from MS)

--
Gregory A. Beamer
MVP; MCP: +I, SE, SD, DBA

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i could use some input.
i need some guidelines to use when trying to decide whether to develop
an app using desktop windows application with VB.NET or intranet web
application with ASP.NET.
it seems the word from microsoft and elsewhere is that browser based
apps will have the longest shelf life because everything is going that
way. hard to tell if this is just wishful chatter or if microsoft has
been watching SUN and IBM too closely.
at any rate, web based apps still seem to bring on a lot of hassles
that desktop based apps do not have like maintanining web servers and
components that force the developer to rely on many things outside of
their immediate control - especially if developing for a large
enterprise even if only a small group of users will actually use the
app.
just like to get a feel from experienced users who have developed both
desktop and web apps in enterprise or large network based companies.

thanks much,
mcnewsxp