.NET 7 Release Candidate: Final Preview Before GA

With .NET 7 Release Candidate now available and the November 8th general availability just a week away at .NET Conf 2022, it is time to look at what this release brings for Azure developers. The RC build is go-live ready, meaning you can start using it in production with Microsoft support.

What’s Coming in .NET 7

.NET 7 continues the tradition of making .NET faster and more cloud-native with each release. Here’s a preview of the key improvements we’ll see at GA.

Performance Improvements

.NET 7 brings substantial runtime improvements:

// New On-Stack Replacement (OSR) enables more aggressive optimizations
// Methods can now be optimized while they're running

public async Task ProcessLargeDatasetAsync(IEnumerable<DataRecord> records)
{
    // OSR can now optimize this loop mid-execution
    foreach (var record in records)
    {
        await ProcessRecordAsync(record);
    }
}

Key performance gains in RC:

• Up to 26% improvement in Arm64 code generation
• LINQ operations are significantly faster
• JSON serialization is 20% faster in some scenarios
• Regex improvements with new source generators

Native AOT Compilation (Preview)

One of the most exciting features is Native AOT (Ahead-of-Time) compilation support:

// Program.cs - Can now be compiled to native code
var builder = WebApplication.CreateSlimBuilder(args);

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello from Native AOT!");

app.Run();

Publish with Native AOT:

dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 -p:PublishAot=true

Benefits for Azure:

• Faster cold starts in Azure Functions
• Smaller container images for AKS
• Reduced memory footprint

Container Improvements

.NET 7 makes containerization simpler with built-in container support:

<!-- Project file -->
<PropertyGroup>
    <EnableSdkContainerSupport>true</EnableSdkContainerSupport>
</PropertyGroup>

# Build and publish container directly
dotnet publish --os linux --arch x64 -p:PublishProfile=DefaultContainer

This is particularly useful for Azure Container Apps deployments:

# azure-pipelines.yml
steps:
  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
    inputs:
      command: 'publish'
      arguments: '--os linux --arch x64 -p:PublishProfile=DefaultContainer -p:ContainerRegistry=$(containerRegistry)'

System.Text.Json Improvements

Contract customization is now available, making it easier to work with APIs:

using System.Text.Json;
using System.Text.Json.Serialization;

[JsonSerializable(typeof(WeatherForecast))]
[JsonSourceGenerationOptions(PropertyNamingPolicy = JsonKnownNamingPolicy.CamelCase)]
public partial class AppJsonContext : JsonSerializerContext { }

public record WeatherForecast(
    DateOnly Date,
    int TemperatureC,
    string? Summary
);

// Use the source-generated serializer
var json = JsonSerializer.Serialize(forecast, AppJsonContext.Default.WeatherForecast);

Generic Math

A game-changer for library authors and data processing:

using System.Numerics;

public static T Sum<T>(IEnumerable<T> values) where T : INumber<T>
{
    T result = T.Zero;
    foreach (var value in values)
    {
        result += value;
    }
    return result;
}

// Works with any numeric type
var intSum = Sum(new[] { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 });
var doubleSum = Sum(new[] { 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 });
var decimalSum = Sum(new[] { 1.0m, 2.0m, 3.0m });

Azure Integration Improvements

The Azure SDK benefits from .NET 7’s improvements:

using Azure.Storage.Blobs;
using Azure.Identity;

// Simplified authentication with DefaultAzureCredential
var blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(
    new Uri("https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net"),
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

// Async streams work great with .NET 7
await foreach (var blobItem in containerClient.GetBlobsAsync())
{
    Console.WriteLine(blobItem.Name);
}

Minimal API Improvements

Minimal APIs get filters, similar to MVC:

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
var app = builder.Build();

// Endpoint filters for cross-cutting concerns
app.MapGet("/items/{id}", async (int id, IItemService service) =>
    await service.GetItemAsync(id))
    .AddEndpointFilter(async (context, next) =>
    {
        var id = context.GetArgument<int>(0);
        if (id <= 0)
        {
            return Results.BadRequest("Invalid ID");
        }
        return await next(context);
    });

app.Run();

Preparing for .NET 7 GA

With GA scheduled for November 8 at .NET Conf, here’s how to prepare:

1. Test your applications on RC now - it’s supported for production
2. Update the target framework:

<PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net7.0</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>

3. Update NuGet packages:

dotnet outdated --upgrade

4. Review breaking changes in the migration guide

5. Test thoroughly - especially JSON serialization changes

.NET Conf 2022

Mark your calendar for November 8-10 for .NET Conf 2022. The event will feature:

• Official .NET 7 GA announcement
• Deep dives into new features
• Real-world case studies
• Community sessions and Q&A

Conclusion

.NET 7 RC is a fantastic preview of what’s to come for Azure developers. The combination of performance improvements, Native AOT, and container support makes it easier than ever to build efficient, cloud-native applications. With the go-live license on RC, you can start testing now and be ready for GA next week.

Resources

• .NET 7 RC Announcement
• What’s New in .NET 7
• .NET Conf 2022
• Migration Guide