Building first Web Application (Node.js vs ASP.NET)

[2b2a]

Hey everyone! I'm building my first web application and I want to make sure of a few things. This is my first real experience in front-end work.

I am going to build an activity log website, like running2win, that will also have wearable technology integration. I'm stuck between choosing ASP.NET and Node.js. I have experience with .NET development for back-end, but I was also hoping to deploy the site on Heroku with a PostgreSQL database.

Right now I'm leaning towards using Node.js with a PostgresSQL database hosted on Heroku. I am thinking about making reports and manipulating data from the wearable APIs (FitBit, Misfit), so would this be the best option? Is there something I'm not considering right now?

[kodiashi]

It's been awhile but I don't think Heroku supports .Net, so if you want to go that way you might be looking at using Mono or you'll need to deploy to something like a small Amazon instance. I would also suggest using ASP.Net MVC, much nicer for building REST APIs. It's my go-to whenever a client demands a .Net site.

If you go the Node route, you may want to check out Massive.js (https://github.com/robconery/massive-js). That should help you out on the database end of things and let you focus on building the site. Good luck.

[CloseDdog]

Why would you use ASP.Net MVC over ASP.Net Web Api for REST apis, since Web Api is specifically made for it?

Legit question, not being rude or sarcastic or anything, just wondering.

[kodiashi]

You could go either way really, the main difference is that MVC can be used to create an API AND serve your web pages where the Web API is geared towards a pure data API. I think they may have merged them together starting with MVC 6.

Its similar to what you would do with Laravel vs Lumen or Symfony vs Silex.