Everything That You Need to Know About .NET Core 2

The framework of Microsoft’s .NET platform originates back as far as the late 1990’s. Since then, it has undergone major changes and has become a frontrunner in how we develop software.

Allowing developers to create code using a variety of different languages, such as C# and C++, the language interoperability that .NET allows is due to the Framework Class Library and Common Language Runtime (CLR) components of the framework. The process involves transforming the source code, irrespective of what language it was written in, to a CIL code, known as a bytecode. Before .NET can process the code completely, the CLR transforms it into a native code that can be read universally across the .NET framework.

With a simplified assembly, the .NET framework is a firm favourite amongst those looking for .NET developer jobs in Ireland. Since the addition of .NET Core, code has been able to be shared across platforms with ease due to providing those who use it with a multi-platform library.

From August 14th, 2017, Microsoft’s latest update of their framework, .NET Core 2, has been available for download. With some slight changes since their last release, there are some functions that will change the way you use the platform. Below is a list of what you need to know and how it will impact you as a user:

Expanded API’s

Application Programming Interfaces (API) allows various elements of software to interact with one another. The routines, tools and protocols have the ability to define the way that a program has been developed and ensure that it has been written in the correct way for the specific operating system. Housed within a library class, API influences how the software will interact with external code so is an important element for developers to be aware of.

Previously, one of .NET Core’s limitations was the lack of third party libraries that were available for use. With only 13,000 previously available, the Microsoft-owned platform’s goal with their update was to make more of its API’s consistent across the various versions of .NET. Now, the newest release supports the use of over 32,000 API’s, making it much easier for you to post your code to a .NET standard library without the need to edit your code substantially.

In addition to this, users might appreciate the new compatibility shim that will enable apps using .NET core 2 to reference any framework library they so wish. With the increase of API’s, .NET Core 2 also supports .NET Standard 2. For those who are unfamiliar with .NET Standard, it acts as a central hub for API’s across a mixture of different environments, including desktop applications and games, amongst others.

OS Support

Due to .NET being a Microsoft platform, the initial release of Core saw a disconnect between operating systems. However, now .NET Core has started to see Mac OS, Windows and Linux as single operating systems. Users running an OS system no longer need to use OpenSSL due to changes in the crypto libraries, taking advantage of services that are natively available. This means that developers will find it easier to work on different operating systems such as desktops and mobile devices. For those who prefer Linux, it is also being treated as a single operating system, and the improvements will mean that there are no individual runtimes.

Razor Pages

An additional feature of the .NET framework is ASP.NET Core. Compatible with .NET Core 2, the open-source framework allows an easy build of web and cloud applications. In the latest release, one of the biggest features to be revealed is the introduction of razor pages. With its aim to make coding page-focused scenarios more productive, it simplifies dynamic HTML code and reduces the number of folders and files in the MVC structure.