Almost coinciding with the 20th anniversary of its .NET platform, Microsoft has announced the availability of the first test version of .NET 7in which the main news that this new version will have when its definitive version arrives, as a improved support for container and cloud-native scenarios. In addition, it will incorporate several tools to make it easier for developers to update legacy projects, as well as for working with containers.
Aside from this, .NET 7 also promises improvements to the developer experience, including simplified startup and configuration for secure authentication and authorization, as well as improved application initialization and the execution. This version incorporates new APIs, optimizations for the JIT compiler (which are still in progress) and support for hot reload scenarios in addition to the existing ones.
.NET 7 builds on the foundation of .NET 6, which was released in November 2021, and includes a unified set of base libraries, runtime environment, software developer kit, and a simplified development experience. Also, as part of the development efforts for .NET 7, Microsoft plans to invest in several technologies, including ASP .NET Core, Blazor, Entity Framework Core, WinForms, and Windows Presentation Foundation. This is because .NET releases include libraries, runtimes, products, and tools, and involve multiple teams, both internal and external to Microsoft, working collaboratively.
To obtain this trial version of the platform, the .NET 7 Preview 1, just download it from dotnet.microsoft.com. It is now available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. .NET MAUI, whose test version 13 has also been available since last week, will also be part of .NET 7, and Microsoft is currently working to support .NET MAUI in .NET 6. Its final version is expected to be coming soon, and once it’s for .NET 6, it will be included in .NET 7.
Among the .NET MAUI-related areas of improvement that will be central to .NET 7 are improved inner development circle experience, support for .NET SDK tools, faster performance of apps, more code sharing options, and an improved interoperability experience.
Jeremy Likness, .NET Data Program Managerhas recalled that «containers are currently the preferred way of working for many companies when approaching the development of native apps and microservices. Leveraging containers offers several challenges, including managing compliance, developing and publishing images, securing images, and optimizing image size and performance. We believe there is an opportunity to create a better experience with .NET containers«.
Likness has also highlighted that «a global and diverse team of Microsoft engineers, in collaboration with a highly engaged developer community, is developing .NET 7. The broad .NET community, which includes everyone from students and hobbyists to open source contributors and enterprise customers, is at the heart of .NET. They propose new ideas, contribute to code regularly, and drive the .NET ecosystem forward«.
