InfoQ Homepage .NET Framework Content on InfoQ
-
In Case You Missed It: Async and Streaming for ADO.NET 4.5
For those .NET developers who still choose to work directly with the DataReader series of classes, .NET 4.5 brings some new async and streaming support your way.
-
Microsoft .NET Finally Offers a General Purpose Zip Library
The .NET Framework has always had a weird relationship with the Zip file format. From the very beginning .NET actually did support Zip files, but in a way most people didn’t realize. After years of dealing with the convoluted ZipPackage class or turning to third-party libraries, Microsoft .NET is finally offering this basic capability again.
-
Deep Dive With Microsoft Fakes – Shims
Shims are a part of the Microsoft Fakes framework that allow Method interception as a part of testing – including framework methods. This allows for lesser intrusive unit testing, as shown in an article by Rich Czyzewski, “Noninvasive Unit Testing in ASP.NET MVC4 – A Microsoft Fakes Deep Dive”.
-
Going Beyond async and await On WinRT
The Windows Runtime introduces greater support for asynchronous programming. The await and async keywords for C# and Visual Basic are part of this support.
-
Async Features Now Available for .NET 4 and Silverlight 5
Microsoft announced the new Async Targeting Pack for Visual Studio 11 Beta, which will allow developers to use asynchronous programming features in .NET 4 or Silverlight 5 applications. These features were previously provided in the Async CTP, which is now deprecated.
-
Managed Extensibility Framework 2: Upcoming Changes for .NET 4.5
Version 2 of Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF), a framework for extending .NET applications, is currently in Preview mode, and the final release will be part of .NET Framework 4.5. Expected enhancements in Version 2 include improvements to the RegistrationBuilder API, attribute-less registration, and better control over object lifetime.
-
.NET 4.5 Compatibility And Multi-Targeting
The upcoming .NET Framework 4.5 being an in-place upgrade to .NET 4.0 has given rise to concerns on how this can introduce breaking changes as well as make multi-targeting difficult. In his article “.NET Versioning and Multi-Targeting..” Scott Hanselman addresses these concerns.
-
WebSocket Support In Windows 8
As both the WebSocket Protocol and the WebSocket API gain full-fledged support in the Windows 8 Consumer preview, ASP.NET developers can start taking advantage of the bidirectional capabilities by using System.Web.WebSockets library.
-
Changes and Guidance for the Task Parallel Library in .NET 4.5
With .NET 4.5 the way you work with the Task class has changed in a subtle but important way.
-
More on Windows Workflow Foundation Support for PowerShell 3
Microsoft is starting to release more details on Windows PowerShell Workflow. Also known as PSWF, this feature of PowerShell 3 allows administrators to “reliably executing long-running tasks across multiple computers, devices or IT processes”. Since we are talking about Windows Workflow, the term “long-running” can mean hours or even days.
-
MFC Update
Despite a recent emphasis on Windows 8 Metro, Microsoft has renewed its pledge to support MFC which they call “the most fully-featured library for building native desktop applications”. While there were no major features announced, a lot of effort was put in to bug fixes and general improvements.
-
Sustained Low-Latency Garbage Collection for .NET 4.0
While most of the attention has been on the upcoming .NET 4.5, Microsoft is continuing to make minor enhancements to .NET 4.0. The newest release, .NET 4.0.3, includes changes to the low latency garbage collector, Windows Workflows, and more.
-
Preview PowerShell 3 in the new Windows Management Framework 3 Beta
Microsoft's recently-released WMF 3 Beta includes PowerShell 3, in addition to updates to WMI and WinRM. PowerShell 3 introduces several new features, including workflows, a new scripting environment, and performance improvements.
-
LINQ for F#
F# 3.0, included in the Visual Studio 11 beta, gains the ability to use LINQ expressions. Other features include support for Portable Libraries and auto-implemented properties.
-
Microsoft Reports Significant Performance Improvements in Entity Framework 5
Microsoft has announced that the upcoming Entity Framework 5 could potentially improve performance up to 67 percent. Developers using EF 4.0 should also see performance improvements just by upgrading to .NET Framework 4.5.