ASP.NET Core has seen major enhancements and modifications with the most recent version of.NET 8. Along with upgrades to AOT, Identity, SignalR, Metrics, and many other features, the Performance and Blazor enhancements for this version of ASP.NET Core are the most significant. What’s new with this new version, here are the details:
ASP.NET Core 8: A Performance Breakthrough
According to Microsoft, ASP.NET Core in.NET 8 stands out as the most high-performing version released thus far. It exhibits a notable speed improvement, surpassing its predecessor, .NET Core in.NET 7, by 18% in the Techempower JSON test and 24% in the Fortunes benchmark. Users are recommended to explore Brennan Conroy’s blog post on the advancements in performance within ASP.NET Core 8 for a more in-depth understanding of these improvements.
ASP.NET 8 Features: A Closer Look at What’s New and Improved
.NET 8 effortlessly integrates advanced language models like OpenAI’s GPT into your .NET applications. Utilize a unified and robust component model, courtesy of Blazor, to address all your web UI needs seamlessly. Explore the convenience of deploying your mobile applications on the latest iOS and Android versions using .NET MAUI. Moreover, delve into the enriched language features of C# 12, elevating code conciseness and expressiveness.
Some of the Key Features of this new release are:
C# 12
- .NET 8 release with C#12. In C# 12, any class or struct can now have primary constructors created with a concise syntax, eliminating the need for boilerplate code to initialize fields and properties.
- Additionally, we can use new default values for parameters in lambda expressions, which enhance code expressiveness.
- You don’t need more overloading or null checks to handle optional arguments.
- Moreover, can use the using directive to alias any type, not just named types.
Entity Framework Core 8
- Entity Framework Core 8 supports for complex types for value objects (without identity), for example Address or Coordinate is included.
- You can find the added support for lazy-loading of no-tracking queries for your program.
Cloud-Native Stack (.NET Aspire)
- .NET Aspire is another cool feature added in the .NET 8.
- The .NET 8 has first preview of .NET Aspire, an opinionated stack for building resilient, observable, and configurable cloud-native applications.
- You can develop specific components for cloud-native development, such as a dashboard, telemetry, configuration, health checks, orchestration, etc.
Artificial Intelligence
- .NET 8 makes ease of use of AI via first-class out of the box AI features in it’s SDK.
- .NET 8 brings several enhancements to the System.Numeric library to enhance compatibility with Generative AI into .NET application. You can infuse AI into your .NET applications easily.
- Large language Model integration with semantic Kernel.
- It is simple to get started with Azure Open AI and Azure Cognitive Search SDKs in .NET 8.
Blazor Enhancements
- Now, you can use Blazor for both client-side (Blazor WebAssembly) and server-side (Blazor Server) rendering in the same app.
- It supports stateless server-side rendering, streaming rendering, progressive enhancement for navigation and form handling, and interactivity per component.
.NET MAUI
- .NET MAUI is Successor to Xamarin.Forms, enabling the creation of projects for different platforms (WinUI, Mac, iOS, Android) with a single codebase.
- .NET MAUI supports targeting iOS-like platforms.
- .NET 8 release has introduced a new Visual Studio Code extension for .NET MAUI.
- Elevated performance, reliability, and developer experience for .NET MAUI applications.