Introduction to ASP.NET Core
Learn what ASP.NET Core is, how it works, and the different types of applications you can build with it.
On this page 5 sections
What is ASP.NET Core?
ASP.NET Core is Microsoft's modern, cross-platform, open-source framework for building web applications, REST APIs, and real-time services in C#. It is a complete rewrite of the older ASP.NET, designed from the ground up for performance and cross-platform deployment.
ASP.NET Core is just C# — classes, interfaces, collections, LINQ, and async/await are all used extensively throughout a typical ASP.NET Core application.
What You Can Build
MVC Web Apps
Full server-rendered websites with Razor views.
REST APIs
JSON APIs consumed by mobile apps, SPAs, or other services.
Real-Time Apps
Live chat and notifications using SignalR.
Minimal APIs
Lightweight APIs with minimal boilerplate, ideal for microservices.
How a Request Flows
Every incoming HTTP request travels through a configurable pipeline of middleware before reaching your application logic, and the response travels back through it in reverse.
FAQs
No — "ASP.NET" (without "Core") refers to the older, Windows-only framework. ASP.NET Core is the modern, cross-platform successor, and what this course teaches.
For building a Web API alone, no. For MVC apps with Razor views, basic HTML helps, though Razor syntax itself is straightforward C# mixed into markup.
Summary
- ASP.NET Core is Microsoft's modern, cross-platform web framework built on C#.
- It supports MVC apps, REST APIs, minimal APIs, and real-time apps.
- Requests flow through a configurable middleware pipeline before reaching your code.