.NET 7: What’s New in Microsoft’s Latest Release

.NET 7, released in November 2022, has major updates and performance boosts. Developers can use them to build modern, scalable apps. .NET 7 is a short-term support (STS) release. It optimizes cross-platform performance, cloud-native development, and productivity. 

.NET 7 builds on .NET 6, ASP.NET 6, and .NET 5 as the unified platform. This release boosts speed, reduces app size, and simplifies workflows. It covers desktop apps, web services, and mobile apps. If your organization seeks app migration services, .NET 7 has the tools to streamline these processes.

What’s New in .NET 7?

NET 7 introduces a broad spectrum of new capabilities:

• On-stack replacement (OSR). This dynamic feature lets you replace running code with a faster version. It boosts performance without restarting the app.
• Improved regular expressions (Regex). The updated Regex engine speeds up pattern matching and cuts memory use. It streamlines apps that rely on text searching.
• Dynamic profile-guided optimization (PGO). This new feature lets the runtime optimize code execution. It does this without extra tools. It improves performance by monitoring execution and adjusting it at runtime.
• Application trimming. We can now remove unused parts of applications to shrink their sizes. This is critical for reducing resource use in cloud environments.
• Memory caching enhancements. ASP.NET optimizations improve memory handling. This boosts web service scalability.

With these additions, .NET 7 improves the development process. It helps businesses deploy optimized applications at scale.

What is .NET 7?

.NET 7 continues Microsoft’s vision of a unified platform. It consolidates mobile, desktop, and cloud-native app development into a single framework. It stresses performance and developer productivity. It aims to create scalable, modern apps using a shared set of tools and libraries. With the .net 7.0 release date in November 2022, it will be supported for 18 months under Microsoft’s short-term support policy. This makes it ideal for developers focused on innovation.

.NET 7 Release Date

.NET 7 based on ASP. NET core and .NET core was officially released on November 8, 2022, coinciding with Microsoft’s .NET Conf 2022 event. As an STS release, it provides updates for 18 months, encouraging developers to move to newer versions quickly.

.NET 7 Performance Improvement

The main aspect of what is .NET 7 is performance optimization. Here are some of the key improvements:

• Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation. .NET 7’s JIT compiler improvements reduce memory use and speed up execution. They do this by using On-Stack Replacement (OSR) to replace slow code paths with faster ones while the app runs.
• Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation. Native AOT provides faster startup times. It compiles the app code into native binaries before execution. This eliminates the need for JIT compilation and reduces app size.
• Garbage collection enhancements. Improvements in garbage collection, especially with Concurrent GC, optimize memory. They cut application pauses during memory reclamation.
• Cross-platform ARM64 optimizations. ARM64 now has better performance across devices. Libraries were rewritten to use vector processing units. This leads to faster speeds on ARM-based devices.

.NET 7 makes apps run faster and use less memory. This is vital for resource-heavy and cloud-native apps.

.NET 7 Notable Features

A range of new features improves the developer experience in .NET 7:

• Minimal APIs. First introduced in .NET 6, these were expanded in .NET 7. It is now easier to build lightweight APIs with less boilerplate code. New additions include typed results and endpoint filters, providing greater flexibility.
• Blazor improvements. Developers now enjoy a smoother experience with Blazor. There are improvements in component navigation, state management, and a new loading progress bar for WebAssembly apps. Custom elements are better now. They enable more modular and reusable UI components.
• Polymorphic JSON serialization. The new JSON serialization features help manage complex data hierarchies. They improve handling of polymorphic data structures and streamline serialization.

These features demonstrate .NET 7’s emphasis on developer productivity, making it easier to build fast, reliable applications across different platforms.

.NET Core 7 New Features

.NET Core 7 has new features to improve app efficiency and scalability. It is a vital tool for developers of modern cloud-native solutions.

• Native AOT compilation. Native AOT in .NET Core 7 precompiles code into native binaries. It improves startup times and reduces memory usage. This is key for cloud services and serverless apps. Quick response times are essential. Native AOT’s main advantage is that it allows apps to run without the .NET runtime on the host machine. This makes deployments leaner and faster.
• Rate-limiting APIs. Built-in rate-limiting APIs help developers manage traffic flow. These APIs limit requests to resources. This prevents overload during high-traffic events and keeps applications stable under stress. This feature is vital for web applications that handle large numbers of concurrent users.
• Minimal APIs enhancements. Minimal APIs, first introduced in .NET 6, are further improved in NET Core 7. New features include typed results, route groups, and endpoint filters. They simplify building secure, efficient, and lightweight web apps. These changes reduce boilerplate code. They make it easier for developers to create robust APIs with less code.
• Blazor hybrid authentication. Blazor has improved. The biggest gains are in state management and navigation. These updates simplify hybrid authentication. They blend Blazor’s WebAssembly and .NET MAUI. This improves transitions between components and boosts performance in real-time apps.

These upgrades make .NET 7 Core a key framework for developers. It helps them build fast, scalable, cloud-native apps. It improves resource management and performance for complex web and mobile apps.

.NET 7 Performance Enhancements

Performance is a key theme in dot NET 7. It has many improvements. They ensure apps run well, even under heavy loads.

• Faster startup times. Native AOT cuts app startup times by removing JIT compilation. Apps start faster and use less memory at runtime. This makes them ideal for cloud environments where quick scaling is key.
• Smaller application sizes. .NET 7 has trimming features that remove unused code. It reduces app sizes, especially for serverless or microservice deployments. Smaller binaries mean quicker load times and lower resource consumption.
• Enhanced memory management. Better garbage collection optimizes memory use. It prevents leaks and reduces the size of long-running apps. This ensures applications remain stable and responsive over time​.
• Just-In-Time compilation enhancements. The JIT compiler in .NET 7 has been refined. It now reduces execution time. It improves apps that need frequent code compilation and execution at runtime.

These optimizations make .NET 7 apps faster. They also handle heavy workloads and large datasets better. So, .NET 7 is a top choice for enterprise applications.

What’s Missing from .NET 7?

Despite the many innovations in .NET 7, some legacy technologies have been phased out, encouraging developers to adopt modern frameworks:

• ASP.NET web forms. This older technology is no longer supported in .NET 7, signaling the shift towards more modern web frameworks such as Blazor and ASP.NET Core 7. Developers relying on Web Forms will need to migrate their applications to these newer frameworks​.
• Windows communication foundation (WCF). WCF has been deprecated in favor of gRPC and RESTful APIs. These alternatives perform and scale better. They are ideal for microservices and cloud-native architectures.
• Windows Workflow Foundation (WF). Another legacy technology dropped from .NET 7 is WF, with developers now encouraged to explore other workflow management solutions, such as open-source alternatives or cloud-based services.

By retiring these older technologies, .NET 7 promotes a modern development approach, pushing developers towards tools that support better scalability, performance, and cloud-native application development. Developers still using these legacy systems will need to assess the impact and plan for migration to supported technologies.

.NET 6 vs .NET 7 — Detailed Comparison

A direct comparison of .NET 6 and dotNET 7 shows notable improvements, particularly in performance and new feature integration:

Developers moving from .NET 6 to .NET 7 will find a smooth transition. It will also offer exciting new features to use.

Migration from .NET 6 to .NET 7

Migrating from .NET 6 to .NET 7.0 is usually smooth. Tools like the .NET Upgrade Assistant can automate many tasks. Here are the core steps:

1. Update global settings and project files. Modify the global.json file in your project root to point to the .NET 7 SDK. Then update the Target Framework Moniker (TFM) in your .csproj or .fsproj file from net6.0 to net7.0. This ensures your project targets .NET 7 and gets access to the latest features.
2. Check dependencies. Review your NuGet package references and ensure that all packages used in the project are compatible with .NET7. This involves updating the version numbers for packages such as Microsoft.AspNetCore., Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore., and System.Net.Http.Json​.
3. Address API and compatibility issues. Some APIs or components used in .NET 6 may have changed or been deprecated in .NET 7. Use the .NET Upgrade Assistant or similar tools to identify any potential issues and apply the necessary fixes.
4. Testing and validation. After the migration, thorough testing is crucial. Run unit, integration, and user acceptance tests. They check that the app works as expected and that there are no breaking changes.

Businesses that rely on legacy apps should get expert help to migrate. Softacom and similar firms specialize in migrating complex legacy systems to modern .NET versions. They ensure seamless transitions with minimal downtime.