Yes, my opinion, but it is possible with WebMatrix to develop
How?
nAnt + WebMatrix + SharpDevelop + SharpDevelop(my own special template project) + nProf + nUnit + SVN Server + Client TortoiseSVN
With this stuff you can use Webmatrix just for design.
You will write all Code Beheind Code in SharpDevelop with Code Completion, and for complex projects, sattelite dlls or that stuff the best tool is nAnt
and the best of all: It is all Open Source and compatible to Mono (www.go-mono.org)
In SharpDevelop 2.0 there will be an ASPx form designer and all the stuff we know of Visual Studio. (k not everything, but enough)
So Summary:
If you re working in a comany where you can spilt the development processin these parts
mfg maZe
Main Topics
Browse All Topics
by: mcgantsPosted on 2005-02-18 at 03:55:26ID: 13344556
hello,
i started off using web matrix as a development tool in university - it's a great little application and because it's free it appeals to many people. if you want to develop small scale applications or just to learn asp.net then it is very good, however you will find that using it after using vs2003 that web matrix is a little limited.
to start with, web matrix supports the 3 tier development like vs2003 by offering you the codebehind, html and page design as three different views.
you may find this approach odd after using vb/classic asp but if you want you can view the code and html on a single page (a feature that i don't think exists in vs2003)
the latest version of web matrix is much more stable than the older versions - i remember when web matrix was first made and i couldnt stand it!
the main differences you will find when using web matrix first is that vs2003 has intellisense and word-autocompletion which is a very good way of learning asp.net and web services. when you type a control/ function etc, vs2003 will give you a list of the methods, parameters etc. that are associated with it.
a big difference from a further development point of view is that vs2003 creates full projects when you develop asp.net pages, rather than simply the .aspx page that is created in web matrix. this means that any files you create in web matrix will not necessarily be workable in vs2003 if you decide to upgrade. having projects has many benefits; whole projects can be secured, codebehind can be shared between pages, pages can be grouped etc.
as far as deploying pages, i have only used iis with asp.net and i can tell you that deployment is as simple with vs2003 as putting the whole folder into the inetpub/wwwroot folder on your web server and granting access. i haven't actually used web matrix pages on a web server, only on the localhost of my computer, but it would be the same sort of procedure - just create a virtual directory and put the pages in there ready to be accessed.
in conclusion, if you are just learning asp.net as a hobby or plan some very small scale application then web matrix is a simple to use and very well written piece of software. if, however, you're looking to create sites with many pages and to create fully-featured sites with the view to growing and further development then i think that it would be more worthwhile to look at investing in vs2003.
as a side note, vs2005 is coming out sometime in the future, so if you could hold off and use web matrix in the mean while you could go straight to using the latest version.
i hope some of this information is helpful,
mcg