Introduction
.NET is a free, cross-platform, open-source framework developed by Microsoft. It supports various programming languages, including C#, F#, and Visual Basic. The framework is used for building different types of applications, such as web applications, desktop applications, mobile applications, cloud services, and more. Currently .NET 8 version is released this month, November 2023.
.NET 8 introduces several new features, improvements, and performance enhancements.
Some key highlights of .NET 8 includes
- ASP.NET Core Improvements: Enhancements to the web development framework, including new features and improved performance
- .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI): .NET 8 is a significant release for .NET MAUI, a framework for building cross-platform applications. It aims to simplify the process of creating applications that run on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows
- Performance Improvements: .NET 8 includes various performance improvements in terms of runtime, garbage collection, and other areas
- C# 12: .NET 8 includes support for C# 12, introducing new language features and enhancements
- New Libraries and APIs: The release includes new libraries and APIs to provide developers with more tools for building applications
ASP.NET Core Improvements
Here are some common areas of improvement users might expect in this new version of ASP.NET Core. As per the Microsoft blog, here is the summary of a few new features and enhancements listed.
Servers & Middleware : HTTP/3 disabled by default
API Authoring : Support for keyed services in minimal APIs, MVC, and SignalR
Blazor :
Blazor Web App template updates
Discover components from additional assemblies for static server rendering
Routing improvements
Trigger a page refresh
Pass through arbitrary attributes to QuickGrid
Determine if a form field is valid
Configure the .NET WebAssembly runtime
Trim .NET IL after ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation
Identity: Removed username property
Single page Apps (SPA): Standard .NET template options
.NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI):
.NET Multi-platform App UI extends the developer’s toolbox, Microsoft says, offering a single-stack solution for building cross-platform mobile and desktop apps with .NET. The company dubbed it the “evolution” of Xamarin.Forms, because it adds desktop support to provide a unified development experience across Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, helping developers reach a wider audience.
In .NET 8, the framework extends its reach with additional support for the latest mobile operating systems and sees improvements in performance, reliability and the developer experience.
Performance Improvements:
There is a comprehensive case study which shows detailed benchmarks and results listed in the visual studio magazine website related to the performance improvements in .NET 8 over the previous versions. Developers are encouraged to read the full article below.
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/performance-improvements-in-net-8/
Support for C# 12:
C# 12 is supported only on .NET 8 and newer versions. C# 11 is supported only on .NET 7 and newer versions. C# 10 is supported only on .NET 6 and newer versions. The latest C# compiler determines a default language version based on your project’s target framework or frameworks. Visual Studio doesn’t provide a UI to change the value, but you can change it by editing the csproj file. The choice of default ensures that you use the latest language version compatible with your target framework. You benefit from access to the latest language features compatible with your project’s target. This default choice also ensures that you don’t use a language that requires types or runtime behavior not available in your target framework. Choosing a language version newer than the default can cause hard to diagnose compile-time and runtime errors.
For more information on C# version support on .NET framework versions, do check the below Microsoft Documentation URL :
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/configure-language-version
New Libraries and APIs:
There are many improvements in core .NET libraries and extension libraries. The below URL describes these libraries and extension libraries in detail.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/whats-new/dotnet-8
How to Download ?
Users can download the package and release notes from the below URLs
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/8.0
Conclusion
.NET 8 typically comes with various performance enhancements and optimizations to make applications run faster and more efficiently. It included new features or improvements to existing language constructs in C# or other .NET languages. It has introduced new features or improvements tailored to modern application development needs. This new release also makes it easier to develop, deploy, and manage containerized applications. It has undergone evolution, incorporating new features and improvements based on feedback and contributions from the community.
Follow our Twitter and Facebook feeds for new releases, updates, insightful posts and more.
