.NET 8 Features: Explore Performance Improvements and Language Enhancements

Overview

As Microsoft's .NET framework continues to evolve, developers are treated to new features, performance improvements, and language improvements in .NET 8. In this article, we'll explore some of the key additions in .NET 8, demonstrating how they can benefit developers in creating more efficient and feature-rich applications.

Performance improvements

Garbage collector enhancements

.NET 8 introduces significant improvements to the Garbage Collector (GC), whose task is to manage memory. The new GC features are designed to reduce latency and boost performance.

// .NET 8 Garbage Collector improvements in action
public class MyClass
{
    // Properties
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }

    // Constructor
    public MyClass(int id, string name)
    {
        Id = id;
        Name = name;
    }

    // Method
    public void DisplayInfo()
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Id: {Id}, Name: {Name}");
    }
}

// Create a list of MyClass instances
List<MyClass> myList = new List<MyClass>();

for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
{
    myList.Add(new MyClass(i, $"Item {i}"));
}

// Perform operations on the list
foreach (var item in myList)
{
    item.DisplayInfo();
}

// Benefit from improved Garbage Collector efficiency
GC.Collect();

Native AOT compilation for windows

Windows .NET 8 introduces experimental support for Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation, which enables developers to compile their applications into machine code before runtime.

dotnet publish -r win-x64 -c Release /p:PublishSingleFile=true

Language enhancements

Records improvements

The records introduced in C# 9 continue to receive attention in .NET 8. Improved inheritance support allows developers to create more flexible and maintainable code.

// .NET 8 records with inheritance
 public record Person(string FirstName, string LastName)
{
    public int Age { get; init; }

    // Additional properties and methods
    public string FullName => $"{FirstName} {LastName}";

    public void DisplayInfo()
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Name: {FullName}, Age: {Age}");
    }
}

public record Employee : Person
{
    public string Department { get; init; }

    // Additional properties and methods specific to employees
    public string EmployeeInfo => $"{FullName}, Department: {Department}";

    public void DisplayEmployeeInfo()
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Employee Information: {EmployeeInfo}");
    }
}

 
// Creating instances of Person and Employee records
        var person = new Person("John", "Doe") { Age = 30 };
        var employee = new Employee("Jane", "Smith") { Age = 25, Department = "HR" };

        // Displaying information using methods
        person.DisplayInfo();
        employee.DisplayEmployeeInfo();

Source generators

It allows additional source code to be generated during compilation, so that performance can be optimized and boilerplate code is reduced. Source generators were first introduced in .NET 5 and have been further enhanced in .NET 8.

using System;

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class, Inherited = false, AllowMultiple = false)]
[CodeGenerationAttribute(typeof(MyClassSerializerGenerator))]
public partial class GenerateSerializerAttribute : Attribute
{
}

public class MyClassSerializerGenerator : ISourceGenerator
{
    public void Initialize(GeneratorInitializationContext context)
    {
        // No initialization required for this example
    }

    public void Execute(GeneratorExecutionContext context)
    {
        // Retrieve the class marked with GenerateSerializerAttribute
        var classSyntax = context.SyntaxReceiver?.Candidates.FirstOrDefault();
        if (classSyntax != null)
        {
            // Generate serialization code for MyClass
            var generatedCode = GenerateSerializationCode(classSyntax);

            // Add the generated code to the compilation
            context.AddSource("MyClassSerializer.g.cs", generatedCode);
        }
    }

    private string GenerateSerializationCode(ClassDeclarationSyntax classSyntax)
    {
        // Generate serialization code using the provided class syntax
        // For simplicity, this is just a placeholder
        return @$"
using System;

public static class {classSyntax.Identifier.Text}Serializer
{{
    public static string Serialize({classSyntax.Identifier.Text} instance)
    {{
        // Serialization logic goes here
        return $""{{\""Id\"": {instance.IdentifierName}.Id, \""Name\"": \""{{instance.IdentifierName}.Name}}\""}};
    }}

    public static {classSyntax.Identifier.Text} Deserialize(string serializedData)
    {{
        // Deserialization logic goes here
        var data = serializedData.Split(':');
        return new {classSyntax.Identifier.Text}
        {{
            Id = int.Parse(data[1]),
            Name = data[3].TrimEnd('\"')
        }};
    }}
}}
";
    }
}

Summary

Developers will benefit from a compelling set of features in .NET 8, including performance improvements and language enhancements. By enhancing the Garbage Collector and native AOT compilation, resources are better utilized, while language improvements such as records and source generators help developers work more efficiently.

Take the time to explore these features, experiment with code examples, and integrate them into our projects as we embark on our .NET 8 journey. Build more robust and efficient applications with .NET 8 and leverage the latest advances in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Happy coding