C# Consulting

Even ASP and PHP, however, were not enough for many modern web developers. Programmers had used the Microsoft Window programming interface before and were comfortable with it; elements on each window were referred to as “controls,” knew how to display themselves (as buttons, check boxes, or what have you), contain text, and work dynamically with the code core – the code, in other words, that actually did the specific work rather than just building the structural skeleton around it. This was a powerful tool, but HTML and other web options simply didn’t include it. A standard Windows application is “event driven,” which means code executes every time something happens – a button is pushed, a timer updates, a check box is clicked, or any number of possible options.

HTML pages, on the other hand, were page driven. Server-side code ran only once – when the page was loaded. Thus, all code had to be executed immediately, and the only way to get dynamic feedback was to reload the page using a complex system of workarounds with HTML forms. Seeing this weakness and wanting to make the web experience closer to the kind you get with event driven applications, Microsoft developers built a new system called ASP.NET. This was based on the client side ASP system, but was radically reorganized in structure; whereas before, ASP code was injected into the HTML wherever it fit, now things were more the other way around. The ASP.NET code declared page elements in the same way a windows applications built control.

We’ll discuss where C# comes into the picture - and how you can use C# consulting to your advantage – in a moment. For now, let’s talk about how the new ASP.NET technology has expanded the world of the Internet. One of the most important ways it has done so is to make a number of new, complex options available that had never been seen before. Because the web could now be run like a Windows application, the web could now perform the function of many Windows applications: database storage and modification, for instance. No longer was it necessary to have “client software” to allow interfacing with data networks; now any browser could access database applications by networking with servers outfitted with ASP.NET. Also, because ASP.NET is “server side” technology – in other words, all required software is installed on the server and not on the user’s computer (as is the case, with, say, Macromedia Flash or JavaScript) – any browser at all can access the information correctly.

That increased level of complexity and programming capability on the part of ASP.Net web developers enabled them to begin breaking new ground in the land of the Internet. Now, programmers could build virtual data centers – entire storehouses of information, all online and accessible only by users chosen by the virtual data center programmers – to allow the quick and easy dissimilation of knowledge. This new method of virtualization and virtual data center automation meant you no longer had to be on a certain network to work with your database, and it eliminated many of the old mainframe problems so many networks had. One good example of a good virtual data center, which uses virtualization to produce virtual data center automation, is the Microsoft support web site. This site, unlike many online virtual data centers, is open to the public for common usage. You’ll notice, if you go to the site, that each page ends in “.aspx” – that is the common extension for an ASP.NET web page.

That’s all well and good, you might say, but what does this all have to do with C#? That’s a good question and, fortunately, one rather easily answered. ASP.NET is designed to work with a number of Microsoft-approved programming languages, including Visual Basic, Java, and C#. C# is directly descended from the C++ programming language, still today the most powerful software coding system available, and the industry standard for software professionals.

ASP.NET works using something called “the code behind” method. Each element on the page has several ASP.NET “events” which can be coded behind the scenes using C#. For instance, an image might have an “Image_Click()” function to fire when the image is clicked, or a mouseover function, or any number of other events you can think of. Pages have loading events, refreshing events, closing events – any possible event you could feasibly use in programming.

The problem, of course, is that not everyone knows C# or, even if they know enough to understand the basic way it works, don’t know enough overall programming knowledge, or even just don’t have quite enough experience to enable them to fulfill the application function – like virtual data center automation, for instance – that they wish to. In that case, the web developer who wants to harness the power of ASP.NET may wish to invest in some C# consulting. Some C# consultants are self employed, allowing them to work on specific projects rather than hiring on with a company full time – perfect for the sort of web developer who needs one specific job done with C#, but can handle the rest him or herself.

So how do you find good C# consulting? The answer, of course, depends on what you need. The key to C# work with ASP.NET, of course, is that it is online. That means, hypothetically, that your C# consulting expert could work from wherever in the world he or she happens to live without necessarily being in close physical proximity to your location. If you’re willing to work with someone over phone, email, and Internet, then you may well want to consider simply finding good C# consulting online. Just do a search with your web browser of choice for “C# consulting,” and start looking around at the possible options.

One difficulty many small-scale users experience in working with ASP.NET is the fact that a server-side processing capacity is required. Unless you have the money to shell out for a development server for your site – in other words, an entirely different machine which you can upload your website to to test it before releasing it live on your live server, or on the server you’re leasing from various online hosting services – you’re going to have some trouble in testing your ASP.NET site.

So what can you do? The answer lies in VMware. VMware, or “virtual machine ware,” lies in a new technology designed to allow users to simulate “virtual machines” – several at a time – on a single physical workstation. That means you can actually set up a separate server virtually, through the process of virtualization of your processor, on your own PC. Once the server has been created, you can then set up an ASP.NET application on it to test from, and begin coding in C# on it and test to your heart’s content.

Another form of virtualization related to Vmware, but not at all the same, is the technology that allows you to use and manipulate “virtual desktops.” A virtual desktop is “virtual” in the same way a virtual server (essentially a virtual data center on your own PHC) is virtual – in that it appears to be the work of hardware, but is actually the work of software (thus virtual). If you think about it, this isn’t all that common—after all, isn’t the point of computers to simulate the real (hardware) with the digital (software)?

That point aside, however, virtual desktops can be very useful tools to the dedicated web developer, C# consulting expert, or whatever information technology job you may happen to hold. A virtual desktop lets you do a number of things that your video card and / or monitor would otherwise be incapable of accomplishing. You can, for instance, get virtual desktop applications that allow you to “rotate” between your real desktop and two or three virtual desktops, allowing you to customize your PC far beyond the usual limitations imposed by a single fixed desktop. You can also, for instance, use virtual desktop software to get the full usage out of your video card. Some video cards are able to display resolutions that are sometimes rather higher than the capacities of the monitor hooked up to the card (especially if the monitor happens to be old). In those cases, many people use virtual desktops in order to get the full potential out of their cards. These virtual desktops allow you to scroll at the edges to pan around a far larger area than your monitor would otherwise allow.

If you intend to hire a C# consultant to do the ASP.NET programming work on your web site, keep in mind that you still have to provide the technology. That means having a test server for the C# consulting programmer to work with – he or she won’t be able to work directly with the server on your site, unless you want it constantly breaking while he’s working; bad web etiquette, to say the least. In today’s web development environment, a test server is a must, especially when you’re working with a complex web application of the sort ASP.Net so often allows you to build.

That leaves you an option. You could set up the virtual data center server on your machine yourself, or you can check to see if the C# consultant knows how to set it up, and pay him or her to do so if he or she does. Either way, you’re probably going to have to invest in VMWare software to set up the virtual machines on your development PC. Some VMWare is actually free – the so-called “players,” which allow you to use a virtual machine without allowing you to build one yourself. Take a look around online for virtual servers and related VMware you could possibly install on your machine without having to shell out the cash for an expensive software package.

Everybody has their niche; if the modern technological world has taught us anything, that’s it. If you don’t know C# well enough to build a powerful and versatile web application in ASP.NET, never fear – C# consulting is at your command, at your beck and call, ready to do whatever you bid as soon as you bid it – granted that you’re willing to pay the fees of course. Never underestimate the power of virtualization and ASP.NET – C# consulting is more than worth the cost to any modern business that wishes to keep up in a fast paced technological world, so make sure you consider it carefully for your own company. If you want to give your website the sort of power that was hitherto only available in genuine windows software applications, then think about using ASP.NET and getting some C# consulting to help make sure your web application is up to modern standards of web design and functionality. Regardless of what you decide to do, though, make sure that you know what you’re doing by being educated on what you want to do.