Why should you care?

Job postings and new products use Core. Framework is maintenance mode — fine for legacy apps, not for learning greenfield MVC in 2026.

See it live — copy this example

Create an MVC project (dotnet new mvc), add the code, and run dotnet run.

// Framework MVC 5 — Startup in Global.asax / RouteConfig
// ASP.NET Core MVC — Program.cs

builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();
app.UseStaticFiles();
app.MapDefaultControllerRoute();

Run Example »

This lesson uses terminal or setup steps. Run commands on your computer — the live editor appears on coding lessons.

What happened?

• Core has built-in DI, unified configuration (appsettings.json), and better performance.
• Framework apps often use packages that Core replaces with first-class features.

Try it yourself

1. List three differences: OS support, startup file, web server.
2. Deploy a Core app with dotnet publish — output runs with dotnet ShopNest.dll.
3. Read Microsoft docs "Choose between .NET and .NET Framework" for your scenario.
4. Change text or labels in the example and run again — watch the browser update.
5. Break the code on purpose (remove a semicolon), read the error message, then fix it.

Remember

Framework = Windows + legacy .NET. Core = modern, cross-platform, faster. Learn and build on ASP.NET Core MVC.