.NET 9 set to release at .NET Conf 2024

The .NET community is embarking on another exciting annual release cycle with the much-anticipated arrival of .NET 9. Developers are urged to seamlessly transition their applications to the current .NET 8 version while setting their sights on the groundbreaking features that .NET 9 promises to unveil at the .NET Conf 2024, scheduled for the end of this year.

The primary focus of .NET 9 centers on cloud-native and intelligent app development, with a commitment to significant investments in performance, productivity, and security. The platform aims to introduce advancements across various layers, providing developers with an enhanced and streamlined experience.

Cloud-native development takes center stage with .NET 9

.NET 9 is poised to be a major leap forward, with the release of Preview 1 today. The development team is keen on gathering feedback on the plethora of new features they've introduced. The emphasis on cloud-native development is evident, as the platform delves into runtime performance, application monitoring, and providing well-defined pathways to popular production infrastructure and services.

In collaboration with Microsoft's partner teams, including Canonical and Red Hat, .NET 9 is engineered to work seamlessly across various environments, ensuring optimal performance wherever it is deployed. Notable improvements include Native AOT and application trimming, paving the way for optimized production apps across different application types.

Azure Container Apps partners are actively involved in scaling .NET 9 apps within Kubernetes-based environments, addressing key aspects such as encryption of ephemeral data and enhancing API rate limiting for optimal behavior across nodes.

Tools for cloud-native developers

Collaborating with Visual Studio partners, .NET 9 aims to deliver improved development and deployment experiences for developers using Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. Native AOT code compilation, previously requiring specialized tools, will be made more accessible, expanding its reach to a broader audience of developers.

.NET and artificial intelligence

The intersection of .NET and artificial intelligence continues to generate excitement. Leveraging Azure Open AI and .NET, the platform has embraced AI solutions over the past year, with Microsoft Copilot gaining significant popularity. In .NET 9, the focus on making AI integration even more accessible for developers is evident, promising robust libraries and documentation for working with OpenAI and OSS models.

.NET 9 backlog

Beyond cloud-native and AI projects, .NET 9 has a comprehensive backlog covering various aspects, including .NET MAUI, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, C#, and other runtime and tools components. Regular updates and new features are continually being defined, with ongoing experiments that may shape future releases.

Try .NET 9 Preview 1

Developers can now download .NET 9 Preview 1, with subsequent preview releases available on GitHub Discussions. The community is encouraged to explore the advantages of .NET 8 while anticipating a seamless migration to .NET 9.

The .NET community's active involvement is acknowledged and celebrated, with gratitude extended to those contributing to the platform's success. Community member highlights can be found in the .NET 9 release notes, showcasing the collective effort that makes each release a success.