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What is New in .NET 9
If you are like me, a .NET developer and excited about new releases of .NET then you might be curious around this time of the year to have a look at the new features of .NET which might be useful for you.Apart from other features I can’t want to have a look at the new features in C#. For this year ,Microsoft has officially announced .NET 9 , and it has many new features aimed at improving the development experience.
This release includes features related to building a web application, cloud, or an AI solution.Let’s see what is new and if it may be worth learning about these features.
.NET 9 is built to address the current and future needs of the developers. In .NET there are features for improving performance, integrating some of the latest cloud-native features, and making a few AI-driven tools more accessible to developers. Here’s a sneak peek at some of these features:
Top Features in .NET 9
- Improved Performance – Fast runtime, efficient use of resources for resource-hungry applications
- Cloud-Native Support – Easy integrations with Kubernetes and container deployments.
- C#9 – has better thread synchronization, the ability to use parms parameter with any collection, new LINQ methods and support for partial properties among other features.
- Smarter Debugging with AI – AI-assisted debugging to help you trace and squash bugs smartly, not hardly.
- Improved MAUI Support – Cross-platform development is much easier with the advanced .NET MAUI.
Now let’s look at these and other important features in .NET 9.
- Blazing-fast Performance
Performance improvements in .NET 9 are not just about faster applications but they are also about making the life of developers easier. Just-In-Time is smarter, and Garbage Collection is now optimized for modern workloads. What this means is fewer performance bottlenecks under highly loaded workloads, such as a fintech platform or e-commerce during peak sales.There are feature switches to remove dead code at compile time, based on the value of the switch.
- Cloud-Native Development
The new functionality of .NET 9 brings in better support for Kubernetes, gRPC, and other cloud-first architectures out of the box. With the built-in features of handling distributed systems, you can deploy and scale apps across multiple environments without a glitch.
Now Hosting a microservice architecture on AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) seamlessly scales.
- AI-Assisted Debugging
There is smarter debugging, thanks to AI-driven insights, you will be able to pinpoint issues in your code unlike ever before. The onboard tools analyze runtime behavior and give suggestions for fixes or optimizations in real time. Consider debugging a complex chain of API calls.AI can now highlight where the problem actually lies and even suggest corrective actions.
- .NET MAUI Gets Better
If work in cross-platform development , .NET MAUI now offers better tooling and more native API support. This means faster, prettier, and smoother apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS,all from a common codebase.Also New controls make building UI components a snap.
Other Notable Features
-
C# 13 Support
.NET 9 adds support for C# 13, including but not limited to, parameter null-checking, pattern matching, and many more. This means developing cleaner, safer code is easier now. -
Unified Monitoring and Observability
New diagnostic tools integrated with the runtime give developers a unified view of application performance. It’s easier than ever to track down memory leaks or analyze API throughput. Debugging becomes less stressful and more insightful in production systems. -
JSON Everywhere
The latest System.Text.Json library is faster and even more flexible, making it even easier to work with JSON serialization/deserialization. This is particularly useful in APIs and data-intensive applications. -
Containerization Improvements
Containerized .NET application development just got easier. New lightweight images and optimizations mean deploying an app to Docker or Kubernetes is much quicker and lighter. Consider deploying a .NET-based e-commerce application as microservices in containers for peak times such as peak times like Black Friday. -
OpenTelemetry Integration
Native support for OpenTelemetry means it’s easier than ever to instrument your apps and monitor their performance in real-time across complex, distributed systems.
.NET 9 is part of Microsoft’s LTS program, which means extended support and stability which is required for enterprise-grade projects.
Follow on:Understanding Azure Storage Encryption at Rest
Living in a world of rapid technological changes, one of the things that is indispensable is data security. If you are a developer, chances are that you have at least some idea about cloud services and encryption. Here we will try to understand what is Azure Storage Encryption at Rest and why it is worth looking into.
What’s encryption, and why should we care?
Encryption simply means shuffling information so unauthorized users can’t read the original data. There is a secret code that only a person with the correct key can use and read the information data. It is just like sending a postcard, but in a language no one can understand unless they have your special decoder.
It solves the following problems:
- Keeps your data private, an unauthorized person cant get access to the correct information
- Protects it from hackers, even if someone steals it, it’s useless without the key.
- Helps instill confidence in your customers because their information is secure.
Significance of Cloud Encryption
Your data if stored in the cloud such as Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, is stored on remote servers. Cloud encryption ensures that it’s secure even there. There are usually three types:
- Encryption in Transit: Protects data when data is in motion such as while uploading/downloading files.
- In-use encryption: It keeps the data secure when being accessed or processed.
- At-rest encryption: When data is just sitting in storage, this makes sure that your data is encrypted.
- With cyber threats on the rise and with privacy laws getting more significant, GDPR encryption is no longer optional, rather it is the first line of defense.
Azure Storage is the cloud-based file storage for Microsoft. Azure Storage can store files, databases, and even big video files. It is scalable from very small to very large and secure. It is one of the most important storage options available for various storage needs in an Azure application.
What Is Encryption at Rest?
Think of a vault full of confidential information, now imagine that a thief breaks in and finds all this information. Encryption at Rest protects the information in storage from being read by unauthorized persons without the correct key.
Azure Storage Encryption at Rest
Azure Storage makes encrypting at rest very easy. By default, all of your data is encrypted without doing anything additional. This indicates that every blob or file, queue or message, table, or structured data stored in Azure is secure.
Microsoft uses a super-strong algorithm called AES-256 encryption, which is also trusted by banks and governments. You can manage the encryption keys yourself, or let Azure handle them for you-a win-win for flexibility and control.
Why Does Encryption at Rest Matter
Let’s try to understand with some real-world scenarios:
Securing Customer Data in an E-commerce App
You are storing customer information, including names, addresses, and purchase history, in Azure Blob Storage. If there is encryption at rest, even if any miscreant gains access to storage, the data would be illegible without an encryption key.
Protecting Health Records
For a healthcare application, sensitive patient data must be stored. Encryption at rest ensures that the law is followed. If data is stolen, it will still be encrypted and therefore unreadable.
Backing Up Important Files
Consider a backup of your company’s financial records to Azure. Encryption at rest ensures those records are secure, even in the event of compromise of the storage location.
Important points about Azure Storage Encryption at Rest
- Key Management: Microsoft-managed keys offer simplicity, while BYOK enables customers to own encryption keys for tight control.
- Azure Key Vault Integration: Store and manage your encryption keys safely in Azure Key Vault.
- Resource Configuration: Configuration in storage account creation should be done via Azure Portal, CLI, or SDKs.
- Auditing and Monitoring: Utilize Azure Monitor and diagnostic logs to monitor the encryption activities, ensuring encryption activities occur within organizational security policies.
Encryption in the cloud is important for building a secure and reliable system. With Azure Storage Encryption at Rest, this encryption is easy to deal with and automated and you may focus on writing code rather than worrying about data breaches.
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C# program to check if a number is prime
Some numbers are considered special because of their unique properties. One type of special number is called a Prime number.We will first understand what is a prime number and then write a small program in C# that can check if a number is prime or not.
What is a Prime Number?
A prime number is a special number that can only be divided evenly by 1 and itself. That means if you try to divide it by any other number, you’ll receive a remainder. Examples of such prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11. Try dividing them with other numbers, excluding 1 and themselves; they won’t divide even. That’s what makes it prime!
Prime numbers are useful in many areas, such as in cryptography to keep your data safe across the internet. Learning how to check for a prime number is one of those first steps toward understanding programming and algorithms.
Simple Program in C# to Check for Prime Numbers
Let’s assume we have a number, and we want to see whether it is a prime or not. We can make this prime number verification program in C#. We will go through it step by step.
using System;
class PrimeChecker
{
static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Enter a number:");
int number = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
if (IsPrime(number))
Console.WriteLine(number + " is a prime number.");
else
Console.WriteLine(number + " is not a prime number.");
}
static bool IsPrime(int number)
{
if (number <= 1) return false;
for (int i = 2; i <= Math.Sqrt(number); i++)
{
if (number % i == 0)
return false;
}
return true;
}
}Breaking Down the Code: What Each Part Means
Main() Method
The first point at which the program will start running is here. Inside the main, we are asking the user to input a number and then calling a method named IsPrime to check whether the number is prime or not.
IsPrime Method
The method IsPrime consists of the actual logic, that takes a number and checks if it’s prime or not.
if (number <= 1)
This checks if the number is less than or equal to 1. Since we are interested in numbers greater than 1 only , we immediately return false in this case.
for (int i = 2; i <= Math.Sqrt(number); i++)
Here, we loop from 2 up to the square root of the number. According to the prime number algorithm we loop till the square root.
if (number % i == 0)
This line checks whether the number is divisible by i. If it is then it means the number has a divisor other than 1 and itself-it’s not a prime.
Returning value of either True or False
If we find a divisor then we return false-not prime. When the loop finishes without finding any of the divisors then we return true, which means that the number is prime.
In this simple program, we looked at the logic of checking if a number is prime or not, step by step. Every time you run this program with a different number, it will verify if the number is prime or not.
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Introduction to Blazor framework
If you’re a .NET developer, you may have heard the name Blazor, which is one of the hot technologies for building interactive web applications. Where does that fall, and how will it help you as a developer? A high-level overview of this would be that Blazor is a compelling framework allowing .NET developers to create dynamic, interactive, and modern web applications, but using C# instead of JavaScript. Whether you are working on a small project or building an enterprise-level application, Blazor could be your new best friend!
Here we will look into the basics of Blazor, when to use it, and have a simple example to see how to get started with this.
Significance of C# in Web Development
Blazor is part of ASP.NET which makes it a natural fit for .NET developers who wish to expand their skills into web development. Up until now, creating web apps with interactivity had at least required a good understanding of either JavaScript itself or frameworks like React and Angular. Blazor changes that by letting you create web apps using your existing C# knowledge.
Blazor is designed to work seamlessly with .NET and allows sharing code between the client and the server. This can speed up development, reduce extra JavaScript code, and in general, make the process easier. Using C# top to bottom makes for a much more cohesive experience when developing, and it helps to make applications maintainable and scalable over time.
When to Use Blazor
Blazor is a great fit when highly interactive client-side applications running in the browser are required in scenarios like the following. Following are some common scenarios where Blazor shines:
Real-World Scenarios
Enterprise Applications: Blazor enables developers to create sophisticated internal applications for businesses, such as dashboards, admin portals, or reporting tools, without leaning much toward JavaScript frameworks.
Real-Time Data Applications: Whether you are developing applications requiring real-time updates, such as chat applications, live monitoring tools, or financial dashboards, Blazor provides easy integration for this feature. SPAs (Single-Page Applications): SPAs offer a dynamic user experience without frequent page reloads. Blazor is great with SPAs. Generally speaking, Blazor will be applicable as an alternative to SPAs with heavy JavaScript, maintaining everything in C#.
Cross-platform compatibility: Blazor applications can run in any modern web browser, and using Blazor Hybrid, you can also build cross-platform desktop and mobile applications that take advantage of the native capabilities of each platform.
Blazor Server vs Blazor WebAssembly: Which One to Choose?
Blazor comes in two flavors called Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly. Let us now look into high-level differences between them.
Blazor Server
The application code runs on a server, while the browser communicates with the server over a SignalR connection. This will mean less weight on the client side and quick loading time, but definitely requires a stable Internet connection.
Here is a general overview of how Blazor Server works:
Component-based architecture: Generally speaking, applications using Blazor Server will be composed by piecing together a hierarchy of components, which are reusable parts, typically .NET classes coupled with HTML markup to represent portions of the user interface. This encapsulates HTML markup, C# code, and event-handling logic for simplified construction and maintenance of complex user interfaces.
The biggest difference is that while the Blazor WebAssembly runs completely in the browser, the Blazor Server runs all application logic on the server, sending and receiving only UI events and updates.
Real-Time UI Updates with SignalR: Blazor Server employs a real-time communication library called SignalR, which maintains the channel open between the client and server. This way, Blazor Server can be very efficient in handling UI updates without doing a full reload of the page to ensure that your application is responsive and interactive.
Thin Client Model: Since the client receives just the necessary UI updates, not the entire application, it has a tiny footprint on the client and therefore works well on lower-powered devices or slower Internet connections.
Blazor WebAssembly
This is an application that, running inside a browser using WebAssembly, is capable of running the C# code on the client side. For some kinds of web apps, this makes it possible to work offline, reducing server round trips, which are typical for such apps.
If that’s the kind of application you’re building, one that requires a constant connectivity with low latency, then Blazor Server is likely a better fit. If the client needs to be more independent, Blazor WebAssembly offers an option suitable for offline capability.
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