What is the difference Between .NET 7 and .NET 8?

Quick Overview:
The difference between .NET 7 and .NET 8 offers insight into the performance, integration, diagnostics, and compatibility of both tech stacks. In addition, the .NET 8 new features are also highlighted and compared to .NET 7 for better understanding. Undergoing the blog will help you conclude which Microsoft dotnet framework version is better.

.NET 7 vs .NET 8: Key Differences to Know for 2024

The .NET 8 technology is a game changer for Microsoft. It includes every feature and functionality required to strengthen security, enhance performance, easily integrate, and streamline maintenance. But, still, there’s confusion roaming around whether .NET 8 new features are beating .NET 7’s.

To clear everything out, you can undergo this insightful difference between .NET 7 and .NET 8. It will answer most of your questions, leading you to perform the .NET 7 to .NET 8 upgrade.

So, let’s get started.

.NET 8 Compared to .NET 7: Listing All Significant Factors

.NET 8 and .NET 7 are products of Microsoft but are quite different. Here, we have differentiated them on the basis of performance, diagnostics, observability, cross-platform compatibility, support, language, and integration. It will help you thoroughly understand the difference between the two.

Performance Improvements

Performance is the primary aspect that every developer compares before selecting a technology for curating software. In terms of speed and performance, the .NET 8 is way more optimized than the .NET 7. Both these versions of the Microsoft dotnet framework use JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler. But, in .NET 8, it’s improved to process code faster and lower the loading and process execution time.

In addition, the garbage collector and runtime environment are also more advanced in .NET 8. As a result, businesses save a lot of resources, leading to better performance even during peak hours.

Observability and Diagnostics

Once the application is released or becomes life for the end-users, it’s essential to monitor its health constantly. In .NET 7, you have to use third-party tools for this purpose. However, .NET 8 comes with built-in tools and support for third-party APIs to observe health and pinpoint issues.

In addition, .NET 8 supports the C# hot reload, enabling the modification of generic methods and types while the developers debug the .NET application. Due to this, the dot net application development company is now also heading towards .NET 8 instead of .NET 7.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

.NET 8 is way ahead of .NET 7 in terms of supporting the development of cross-platform compatible applications. .NET 8 compared to .NET 7 leads to building the application for the following hardware intrinsic.

• AVX-512
• Vector 512
• Optimized support for ARM64 and WebAssembly

With the help of these upgrades, you can target all the users across desktop and mobile devices running on Windows, Linux, macOS, and other operating systems.

Microsoft Supports

For every .NET version, Microsoft offers a different support period per the two primary policies – LTS (Long Term Support) and STS (Short Term Support). As the name suggests, LTS or Long Term Support is more beneficial, as you get security, features, and other updates in the extended run, as it’s for approx. 3 years. And compared to it, the STS is only for a year.

The dot net 8 version comes with LTS support, which means Microsoft will support it from November 14^th, 2023, to November 10^th, 2026. However, the support for the dotnet 7 version is going to end on May 14^th, 2024. Thus, for maintaining your app health, .NET 8 is more beneficial.

Version	Original release date	Latest patch version	Patch release date	Release type	Support phase	End of support
.NET 8	November 14, 2023	8.0.0	November 14, 2023	LTS	Active	November 10, 2026
.NET 7	November 8, 2022	7.0.14	November 14, 2023	STS	Active	May 14, 2024
.NET 6	November 8, 2021	6.0.25	November 14, 2023	LTS	Active	November 12, 2024

Programming Language Compatibility

C# is the primary programming language used with the Microsoft dotnet framework. If you partner with an ASP.NET development company, they will also use this language to develop your application.

With the release of .NET 8, Microsoft has also upgraded the C# programming language. It aids the developers to write clean code, helping to maintain structure, efficiently debug and update the application per business needs. In addition, the boilerplate code requirement is also eliminated with .NET 8. Further, .NET 7 doesn’t consist of these features and benefits, so .NET 8 again proved to be better.

Integration

In .NET 7, integration takes more time, as developers have to create custom codes for APIs and other components. However, in .NET 8, Microsoft has provided built-in support for major integrated development environments, APIs, and services. In addition, the debugging functionalities are also advanced, helping to remove errors and improve process execution within minimal time.

After the release of .NET 8, every net development company is recommending .NET 8 to its clients. The built-in support for third-party tools, faster integrations, and upgraded C# all are making .NET 8 a better choice than .NET 7.

Must To Know .NET 8 New Features

As we now understand that .NET 8 is far better than .NET 7, it’s essential that you know all its major features. It will provide a deep insight into the core .NET 8 functionalities, making it a reliable app development technology compared to .NET 7. The top .NET 8 new features include:

Better Source Generator

  The source generator in .NET 8 is more advanced than all other .NET versions. Microsoft has made improvements in System.Text.Json, which pars with the serializer based on reflection. The upgradations in .NET 8 consists of:

• The source generator now supports the init and required properties with serializing types.
• The format of source-generated code is now structured and clean.
• Two new diagnostics are added, named as, SYSLIB1034 and SYSLIB1039.
• The JsonStringEnumConverter<TEnum> is supported in .NET 8.

Native AOT

With the help of native AOT, your .NET 8 applications use only the required code, instead of compiling the overall codebase.

For instance, if the user is logging into the system, the dotnet 8 application will only use that login code only. The rest of the code will remain in its current state. As a result, the following benefits are leveraged:

• Elimination the need of a Just-In-Time compiler.
• The loading speed increases.
• Network and memory resources are saved.
• The time to execute the process and the cost to offer resources get reduced.
• User experience and satisfaction improved.

Advanced AI Capabilities

Artificial intelligence is the future, and most global organizations are integrating it into their applications. With .NET 8, AI integration has become more seamless, faster, and stable. While using dot net 8, you will see improvements in the “System.Numerics” library.

In addition, the AI components in .NET 8 are developed with the collaboration of multiple technologies, including Microsoft Teams, Azure OpenAI, Milvus, Azure Cognitive Search, and Qdrant. All these tech stacks support the .NET 8 applications to unleash AI capabilities with the most accurate outputs.

Improved Blazor

In .NET 8, Blazor has become a full-stack web UI development technology. It enables to handle the client and server simultaneously, helping to reduce the page loading time. In addition, the following Blazor enhancements are released in .NET 8:

• Static server rendering
• Streaming rendering
• Data display using the QuickGrid
• Identity Authentication
• Auto-select rendering at runtime
• Form handling and per-component interactivity

Elevated .NET MAUI

With the introduction of Microsoft’s dotnet framework version 8, .NET MAUI has also improved. Now, you only need a single codebase as before, but that code will also run on API 34 and XCode 15. Your .NET MAUI app with a single codebase will be seamlessly operated on WinUI, iOS, Android, and Mac Catalyst systems.

Moreover, a new extension is also provided for Visual Studio, which you can install to develop cross-platform compatible desktop and mobile applications.

SHA-3 Hashing Primitives

The security features of .NET 8 are also stronger than the .NET 7. It enables to configure the SHA-3 hashing algorithm. Also, APIs that offer the SHA-3 complement will be compatible with your .NET 8 apps.

Following are the details of the SHA-3 cryptography algorithms available with .NET 8:

• SHA3_256, SHA3_384, and SHA3_512 (Used for Hashing)
• HMACSHA3_256, HMACSHA3_384, and HMACSHA3_512 (Used for HMAC)
• HashAlgorithmName.SHA3_256, HashAlgorithmName.SHA3_384, and HashAlgorithmName.SHA3_512 (Used where a developer can configure the algorithm)
• RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA3_256, RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA3_384, and RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA3_512 (Used for RSA OAEP encryption)

HTTPS Proxy Support

To secure client connections and prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, .NET 8 provides HTTPS proxy support. It helps to establish an encrypted communication channel to retain the data integrity and confidentiality.

To configure the complete privacy for every request, you are only required to set the “all_proxy” variable. Once it’s configured, the encryption will start working to secure the

PGO Integration

Unparalleled performance improvements are the main highlight of .NET 8. The PGO or Dynamic profile-guided Optimization is by default enabled for all .NET 8 applications. It results in enhancing the overall speed by 20%, supporting the enhancement of the user experience and lowering the bounce rate.

In addition, support for AVX-512 is also provided, leveraging to execute parallel operations. Due to this, more requests are processed within a short time, and high traffic is handled impeccably. Also, .NET 8 is up to 24% faster than the .NET 7.

Should You Perform the .NET 7 to .NET 8 Upgrade?

As per the factors analyzed in previous sections, .NET 8 is more advanced and proficient than .NET 7. So, you should upgrade your application to .NET 8. But, if you cannot upgrade your app instantly, you can wait, as the support for .NET 7 will be available until 14^th May 2024.

However, you should aim to migrate from .NET 7 to .NET 8 before May 2024 to leverage the functionalities, updates, and technologies provided by Microsoft. Additionally, you can avail yourself of .NET development services and consult with a reliable firm, such as Positiwise Software Pvt Ltd, for better assistance.

Does Dot Net Application Development Company Prefers .NET 8 over .NET 7?

Yes, dot net development companies are preferring .NET 8 over .NET 7. The features and functionalities of .NET 8 are developed per the new-age technology trends, and it also comes with LTS support. In comparison, STS support is for .NET 7, and its performance is also lower than the new version.

However, development companies are still testing version 8 of the microsoft dotnet framework. Therefore, if you want to wait before moving to .NET 8, you have time until May 2024. However, it’s recommended that you migrate to .NET 8 to take advantage of constant Microsoft support, advanced AI capabilities, stronger security, and high performance.

Concluding Up

.NET 8 is an outstanding software development technology from Microsoft. In comparison to .NET 7, it’s ahead in every factor. Whether it’s performance, integration, C# code compiling, observability, or support, .NET 8 wins the battle between the two. In addition, .NET engineers and professionals are also recommending .NET 8 for all new projects.

In addition, if your application is running on .NET 7 or an outdated version, you should upgrade to dotnet 8 before May 2024.