What are Blazor apps?

Blazor apps allow developers to add new features to a website without any coding. So, you don’t need to know any software language.

What is Blazor used for?

It is straightforward. You can use Blazor to build web-based applications without the need for JavaScript or other languages.

Is Blazor free to use?

Since Blazor is an open-source .NET platform, it is free for anyone.

Why should I use Blazor?

Actually, there are lauds of reasons. It lets you write not only the server side but also the client side of code in C#, so you don’t need to learn JavaScript or other complex programming languages.

What do I need to know to use Blazor?

Actually, if you already know what C# is, it will be easy as ABC for you.

Blazor Guide for HTTP and C# Apps

Contents

As everyone knows, there is a lot of code behind every great website. So, websites and coding are inseparable. When the number of codes on a website or application increases, the website speed will slow down. However, there is a powerful link between the website/application speed and visitors’ satisfaction level. That’s why you need to overcome such a problem. You may wonder, ‘How?’ This is where Blazor comes in. Today, we are going to answer ‘What is it?’ and introduce you to its features, hosting models, and prerequisites to use this framework. So, if you feel ready to learn this topic, let’s dive in!

What Exactly Is Blazor?

Let’s say you want to develop a web application. How are you going to do this? Today, any website developer uses two different programming languages. On the server-side, there is C#, PHP, Java, etc. On the other hand, on the client-side, there are JavaScript, such as Angular or Vue. To stay on top of the web development business, you should learn both types of languages. You may wonder ‘Why?’ It is simple to understand. You can’t use PHP or JavaScript for both client-side and server-side web development. This is why we will talk about Blazor. Let’s take a look at what it is and why it is important.

Blazor can be easily defined as one of the latest web frameworks that allow you to make up web applications and interactive web user interfaces using C# instead of JavaScript. So, we can use it in not only the server browser but also the client browser.

Features

Blazor contains all the necessary features to work perfectly in modern browsers. Well, let’s take a quick look at its seven major features.

You can run it on two different sides: on the server or in the browser (WebAssembly)

It enables you to create an interactive and rich web application with C#.

Since it is a part of ASP.NET Core, it can fastly and safely integrate with your existing applications.

Instead of JavaScript or HTML, Blazor uses Razor and C#. So, you can create secure web applications with Razor templates.

It was designed to work perfectly in all modern browsers, so you do not need a plugin.

You build websites that drive more traffic to your web application.

It helps you develop a lot of common development tasks, such as rendering HTML.

Blazor has two major hosting models to run a web application. These are; Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly

Blazor Server (Server-side)

As its very name signifies, Blazor Server runs a web application on the Server. So, all the changes made on the client-side occur on the server-side through the SignalR connection. Then, the Server will handle the changes and update the client-side if needed.

Of course, Blazor Server has some advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at the advantages, first.

Blazor Server does not restrict old browser versions, so it allows you to adapt the application with non-new browsers.

Since server-side applications pre-render the HTML content; they will load faster.

Unlike WebAssembly, Blazor Server will not send your application code to the client, which will be more secure.

However, some disadvantages are inevitable while using Blazor Server.

You need an ASP.NET Core server; otherwise, you will not be able to host your application.

You need an active and consistent internet. However, if there is a problem with your internet connection, the application will not work. This is because it will continuously send data to the Server and from the Server.

Blazor Server may cause a higher latency because of the continuous connection between the Server and the client if you get high traffic.

Blazor WebAssembly (Client-side)

WebAssembly, or also known as WASM, on the other hand, runs a web application completely in the browser. When a user opens a web application, all the code related to the client-side will be compiled, downloaded, and executed by the user’s browser.

There are several advantages to the Blazor WebAssembly hosting model. Let’s look at them quickly.

Once the user downloads everything, there will no longer be a connection with the Server to generate new data.

Using ASP.NET Core Web server to host your application is unnecessary. In other words, you can use any Web server.

WebAssembly allows you to run an application offline on the client-server without a connection to the Server.

If you want to reduce the load on the Server, WebAssembly helps you do it.

Since Blazor is open source; you can share your libraries and code between the server and the client whenever you wish.t

Pre-requisites

If you don’t like to use JavaScript, don’t want to learn about JavaScript, or think JavaScript slows down your website, you may want to use Blazor. In order to build a web application through this framework, there are some requirements. Now, we are going to talk about three important ones. Let’s look at them.

C# Knowledge: It is very important to learn about C# at an intermediate level when building your own application.

ASP.NET Core Knowledge: Depending on the Blazor hosting model you will use, you need to learn about ASP.NET Core for web application development.

Visual Studio: Since you may have difficulty setting up Blazor yourself, you can use Visual Studio. It will help you with both Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly applications.

Our Final Thoughts on Blazor

Blazor is a perfect opportunity for developers who would like to create web applications securely. This open-source technology allows you to do it without any JavaScript knowledge. Today’s guide has talked about its two primary hosting models to run a web application. The difference between these two models is easy to understand. The Server runs the web application on the Server and does not disconnect after the download. WebAssembly, on the other side, runs a web application entirely in the browser. So, after the download, there will be no connection between the Server and the application. It does not matter whether you use the Server or the WebAssembly; you need to have C# and ASP.NET Core knowledge. If you are wondering how to create a web application with Visual Studio, you should also look at the steps at the end of our guide!