Preview 4 for .NET 9 brings performance and optimization enhancements

At the Build 2024 conference, Microsoft announced that GitHub Copilot in VS code is out from preview and will be available to all.

At the conference, Microsoft introduced a new .NET update, Preview 4 for .NET 9. This update focuses on improving .NET support by enhancing performance and optimization.

The Redmond tech giant wants to improve the application-building experience for cloud-based web apps and generative AI apps.

As mentioned on the release notes, the latest .NET 9 preview includes:

• UnsafeAccessorAttribute supports generic parameters
• Feature switches with trimming support
• Tokenizer library enhancements
• OpenTelemetry: Make activity linking more flexible
• PDB support for System.Reflection.Emit.PersistedAssemblyBuilder

Let’s take a look at the changes in the latest preview:

• Artificial intelligence integration – .Net 9 introduces end-to-end scenarios for building AI-enabled applications. Using futuristic libraries like Milvus, OpenAI, and Qdrant, developers can seamlessly integrate AI functionality into their apps.
• .NET Aspire – It is a new addition focusing on building cloud-native distributed applications, and it promises to ease the development process with comprehensive templates and tools.
• C# 13 improvements – Improvements in flexibility and performance will make coding in C# better than ever.
• Performance optimization – Reduces memory usage and execution time with critical benchmarks to enhance the overall performance of .NET applications.
• AI fundamentals with Tensor<T> – .NET 9 will come with a new Tensor<T> type, which will assist in effective data handling and information flow for AI applications.
• Enhanced libraries and frameworks – Enhancements to popular .NET libraries and frameworks, including ASP.NET Core, Blazor, and .NET MAUI, to ensure developers can access the latest tools and features.
• Expanded AI ecosystem – To enrich the .NET AI ecosystem, Microsoft has collaborated with OpenAI, Qdrant, and Milvus, allowing developers to access various tools and resources for AI development.
• Cloud-native development – .Net 9 now has features like Chiseled containers and NativeAOT & Trimming, along with improved libraries for ASP.NET Core, enabling developers to build secure and scalable cloud-native apps.
• Quick start for AI apps – With quick-start samples for AI applications, developers can tap into the AI ecosystem easily. The smart components offer prebuilt controls integrated with AI functionalities, speeding up development for Blazor and MVC/Razor applications.
• Future investments in monitoring AI apps – The integration of.NET Aspire and Semantic Kernel with Azure will allow developers to monitor and observe capabilities for AI apps

You can download the .NET 9 Preview 4 today and update the version to 9.0.100-preview.4.24267.66. It includes runtimes, .NET Runtime 9.0.0-preview.4.24266.19ASP.NET, Core Runtime 9.0.0-preview.4.24267.6 and .NET Desktop Runtime 9.0.0-preview.4.24267.11.

The languages supported by the version are C# 12.0, F# 8.0, and Visual Basic 16.9

Have you tried the Preview 4 for .NET 9 yet? If so, share your experience with our readers in the comments section below.