Great idea!
Let's classify and compare popular programming languages along similar lines —
focusing on:
Language
Primary runtime/platform/framework
Popular UI options
Common architectural pattern
This will help you understand how C#/.NET + MVVM fits into the broader ecosystem.
✅ Classification: C#, C++, Python, Java, JavaScript, Swift
Language Framework/Runtime Common UI Frameworks Common Architecture
WinForms, WPF, MAUI,
C# .NET (Core/Framework) MVVM, MVP
Blazor
C++ Native, Qt, MFC Qt, wxWidgets, ImGui, MFC MVC, custom, event-driven
Python CPython, PyQt, Tkinter Tkinter, PyQt, Kivy, PySide MVC, MVP, procedural
MVC, MVVM (Android Jetpack),
Java JVM, JavaFX, Swing JavaFX, Swing, Android UI
MVP
JavaScript Node.js, browser React, Angular, Vue, Electron MVVM (Vue), MVC (React), Flux
Swift SwiftUI, Cocoa Touch SwiftUI, UIKit MVVM, MVC (iOS classic)
🔍 Breakdown: C# vs Others
🔹 C#
Platform: .NET (Windows, cross-platform via .NET Core/MAUI)
UI Frameworks: WPF (desktop), MAUI (cross-platform), WinForms, Blazor (web)
Best Suited Architecture: MVVM (especially for XAML-based UIs)
🔹 C++
UI Frameworks: Qt (cross-platform), MFC (Windows-only), ImGui (game/dev tools)
Architecture: Often manual or lightweight patterns (MVC in Qt)
Not strongly architectural — flexibility leads to custom patterns
🔹 Python
UI Frameworks: Tkinter (built-in), PyQt/PySide (Qt bindings), Kivy (mobile/desktop)
Architecture: Often MVC-ish in PyQt/Kivy, but can be very procedural or script-like
Weak native UI story — often used for backend, data science, or CLI tools
🔹 Java
UI Frameworks: JavaFX (modern), Swing (older), Android (Jetpack Compose, XML)
Architecture: MVC in desktop, MVVM/MVP in Android
Well-structured, mature tooling, verbose
🔹 JavaScript
UI Frameworks: React (component-based), Angular (MVC), Vue (MVVM), Electron (desktop
apps with web tech)
Architecture: Component-driven, MVVM (Vue), Flux/Redux (React)
Modern web is very architecture-focused
🔹 Swift
UI Frameworks: SwiftUI (declarative), UIKit (imperative)
Architecture: MVVM with SwiftUI, MVC with UIKit
Strong MVVM support with new tooling and declarative UI
🧠 Summary View
Platform/Language Native UI Stack Ideal Pattern Notes
C#/.NET WPF, MAUI, WinForms MVVM Toolkit-supported, strong XAML binding
C++ Qt, MFC Custom/MVC Powerful, flexible, but manual
Python PyQt, Tkinter, Kivy Procedural/MVC Easy to start, weak tooling for UI
Java JavaFX, Android MVC/MVVM Verbose, very structured
JavaScript React, Vue, Angular MVVM/MVC Component- and state-driven
Swift SwiftUI, UIKit MVVM/MVC Declarative with SwiftUI
Let me know if you want this visualized as a table/image or tailored to a specific platform like mobile
or embedded systems.
Topics to master
Absolutely — since you're already familiar with C# and .NET, here's a clear breakdown of those
modern .NET technologies you mentioned, with practical explanations and when to use them:
🔷 1. MAUI – Cross-Platform UI for Mobile/Desktop
MAUI = .NET Multi-platform App UI
Build native apps for:
Windows
📱 Android
🍎 iOS
💻 macOS
All from a single C# codebase and XAML UI.
✅ Use MAUI When:
You want to build mobile + desktop apps with shared code.
You’re familiar with WPF or XAML (because MAUI uses similar syntax).
You want one .NET project to target multiple platforms.
🔷 2. Blazor – Web Apps with C# Instead of JavaScript
Blazor = Build interactive web UIs using C# and Razor instead of JS.
Blazor Options:
Type Description
Blazor Server Runs on server, sends UI updates via SignalR
Blazor WebAssembly (WASM) Runs entirely in the browser using WebAssembly
Blazor Hybrid (with MAUI) Web UI inside native MAUI apps
✅ Use Blazor When:
You want to build web apps using C# instead of JavaScript.
You're building internal tools or line-of-business apps.
You're already comfortable with Razor Pages / MVC-style syntax.
🔷 3. ASP.NET Core – Build Web APIs & Web Apps
ASP.NET Core is the modern way to build:
✅ Web APIs (for mobile/web apps)
✅ Web apps (with Razor Pages, MVC, or Blazor)
✅ Microservices (via gRPC or REST)
✅ Real-time apps (using SignalR)
✅ Use ASP.NET Core When:
You’re building backend services, web APIs, or full web apps.
You want high performance, modular, and cross-platform apps.
🔷 4. EF Core – Entity Framework Core (Data Access)
EF Core is a modern ORM (Object Relational Mapper) for .NET.
Map your C# classes to a database (SQL Server, SQLite, PostgreSQL, etc.)
Avoid writing raw SQL
Supports LINQ, Migrations, Change Tracking
✅ Use EF Core When:
You need to access a relational database.
You prefer strongly typed data access.
You want to avoid boilerplate data code.
🔷 5. Azure – Cloud Platform by Microsoft
Microsoft Azure lets you deploy and scale:
Web apps
APIs
Databases
Functions (serverless)
Containers
CI/CD pipelines
✅ Use Azure When:
You want to host your .NET app in the cloud.
You want to use cloud databases, queues, storage, etc.
You want to scale your app without managing servers.
🔷 6. Unit Testing – Ensure Code Quality
In .NET, you can write tests using:
xUnit (most popular)
NUnit
MSTest
Also supported:
Mocking frameworks (Moq)
Test runners in Visual Studio, CLI
✅ Use Unit Testing When:
You want confidence in your code
You're working on critical logic, services, APIs
🔷 7. AOT – Ahead-of-Time Compilation in .NET
Introduced in .NET 7 and improved in .NET 8
AOT compiles your .NET app to native machine code at build time (not at runtime).
✅ Use AOT When:
You need faster startup
You want to deploy lightweight, native-like apps (e.g., CLI tools, MAUI apps)
You're targeting low-resource environments
🧭 TL;DR – What to Learn When
Goal Tool/Tech to Focus On
Build mobile & desktop apps ✅ .NET MAUI
Build web frontends in C# ✅ Blazor
Build web APIs/backend ✅ ASP.NET Core
Work with databases ✅ EF Core
Host your app or scale in cloud ✅ Azure
Write clean, tested code ✅ Unit Testing (xUnit)
Optimize performance/startup ✅ AOT in .NET 8
Let me know which area you’re most curious about next — I can give you a tailored roadmap or
project ideas!
Great question — and very practical! Let's break it down by project type and what kind of file or
output you get after building it in .NET.
🔧 Output Types by Project
Project Type Output File Description
Class Library Contains reusable code (no entry
.dll
(.NET) point)
Console App
.exe (Windows) / .dll (cross-platform) Self-contained executable or app
(.NET)
Platform-specific bundle:• Windows Native app package for each
.NET MAUI App
→ .exe• Android → .apk• iOS → .app / .ipa platform
ASP.NET Core Web Hosted web app, run with dotnet
.dll + config/wwwroot
App yourapp.dll or published to a server
Blazor Runs in browser, no .exe; served via
.html, .wasm, .dll
WebAssembly web server
Web app hosted by server, behaves
Blazor Server .dll
like ASP.NET Core
Windows
.exe + .dll Native desktop app (Windows only)
Forms/WPF
Cloud function deployed to Azure,
Azure Function .dll
no executable
🔍 Examples with More Detail
🔹 1. Class Library
Output: MyLibrary.dll
No entry point — used by other apps via reference
🔹 2. Console App
Output: MyApp.dll (cross-platform)
Or MyApp.exe if published for Windows
Can use:
dotnet MyApp.dll
🔹 3. .NET MAUI
Multi-platform output:
o Windows → YourApp.exe in bin\Windows
o 📱 Android → .apk
o 🍎 iOS → .app (simulator) or .ipa (device)
Uses platform-specific SDKs under the hood
🔹 4. ASP.NET Core / Blazor Server
Output: YourApp.dll + static files
Run with:
dotnet YourApp.dll
Or host with IIS, Nginx, Azure App Service, etc.
🔹 5. Blazor WebAssembly
Output is web-only:
o index.html
o .dll files (your app and dependencies)
o .wasm files (runtime)
No .exe — runs in browser via WebAssembly
🔹 6. Azure Function
Compiles to .dll
Deployed to Azure Function runtime
Invoked via trigger (HTTP, timer, queue, etc.)
🧠 Summary Table
Project Type Output Runs Where
Class Library .dll Used by other apps
Console App .exe / .dll Terminal
ASP.NET Core .dll Web server / cloud
Blazor WASM .html + .wasm Browser
Project Type Output Runs Where
Blazor Server .dll Web server
.NET MAUI .exe, .apk, .ipa Device/desktop
WPF / WinForms .exe Windows only
Azure Function .dll Azure runtime
Let me know if you want to try building and running a specific one — I can guide you step-by-step
with the output files!
✅ Yes — you're absolutely right, and that’s a great way to understand it.
Let’s walk through it step by step:
🧭 What Happens When You Run an .exe in .NET (Non-Single File)?
Let's say you have this structure:
/bin/Release/net8.0/
├── MyApp.exe 🟢 ← You double-click this
├── MyApp.dll 📦 Your compiled code (Main method)
├── Newtonsoft.Json.dll 📦 Dependency library
├── SomeLib.dll 📦 Another library
├── runtimeconfig.json ⚙️Runtime settings
├── deps.json 📦 Dependency tree
✅ When You Launch MyApp.exe:
1. The OS or dotnet CLI runs the host executable (MyApp.exe)
2. The app:
o Loads .dll files listed in deps.json
o Initializes the .NET runtime (based on runtimeconfig.json)
o Looks for the entry point (Main() in MyApp.dll)
3. The app runs and uses all referenced .dlls at runtime
It's like a manager (.exe) telling .NET:
“Here’s the setup — load this app, get these dependencies, go!”
📌 App Launcher vs Shortcut
Term What It Is Role
.exe Executable file Actual program runner
Shortcut (.lnk) Windows desktop/start menu link Just points to .exe
DLLs & configs Dependencies loaded dynamically App won't work without them (unless single-file)
So:
The .exe is the real runner
The shortcut (.lnk) is just a convenient pointer to it
🧩 Why Not Just One File Then?
Because by default:
Modular .dll structure keeps builds smaller, builds faster
Easier to update just one library
Faster dev/debug cycles
But for deployment, many teams use:
✅ Single-file publish
✅ Self-contained publish
✅ Trimming (to reduce unused code)
🧠 Final Analogy
Think of .exe like a movie director, and .dlls are actors and tools.
The .exe says: “Lights, camera, action! Now bring in these actors (DLLs) to perform.”
If you're making a production for the public (users), you might want to package the entire movie into
one file — that’s the single-file executable approach.
Let me know if you’d like to try publishing a real example as a single .exe or explore .NET trimming for
size optimization!
