ASP.NET Core is a modern, open-source web framework developed by Microsoft. It is designed for building fast, scalable, and cross-platform web applications, APIs, and microservices. Unlike the older ASP.NET framework, ASP.NET Core runs not only on Windows but also on Linux and macOS, making it suitable for today’s cloud-based development environments. ASP.NET Core is built on top of the .NET platform and supports a modular architecture. This means developers only include the libraries they need, which results in smaller applications with better performance. It also supports dependency injection by default, which makes it easier to build loosely coupled, testable applications. One of the key benefits of ASP.NET Core is its high performance. Benchmarks consistently show that it performs better than many other popular web frameworks. This makes it a strong choice for applications that require speed and efficiency, such as high-traffic websites and real-time systems. Another strength of ASP.NET Core is its flexibility. You can build traditional server-rendered web apps with Razor Pages, single-page applications with Blazor or Angular/React, and RESTful APIs for mobile or frontend apps. Its unified programming model makes it easier to handle different types of applications in one ecosystem. Security is also a core feature. ASP.NET Core comes with built-in tools for authentication, authorization, and protection against common web vulnerabilities. It integrates seamlessly with modern identity providers like Azure Active Directory, OAuth, and OpenID Connect. ASP.NET Core is widely supported by development tools like Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. It also works well with DevOps pipelines, Docker containers, and cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, making it a great choice for both small startups and large enterprises. In summary, ASP.NET Core is a powerful and flexible web development framework that enables you to build fast, secure, and scalable applications across multiple platforms. Whether you’re creating APIs, modern web apps, or enterprise-level systems, ASP.NET Core offers the tools and performance to get the job done.