The

Evolution
of
.NET
Aram Tchekrekjian @AramT87
This document is a reference
for you to understand
the timeline of .NET
since the inception of .NET
Framework (The original
.NET) until the present day
of modern .NET, highlighting
the major announcements
and key features

Keep reading to learn how

.NET has evolved to become
one of the most used
development frameworks

@AramT87
The Dawn of Time
Late 90s - Early 2000s

@AramT87
The Original .NET
(.NET Framework)

Microsoft began developing

.NET Framework in the late
90s, originally under the
name of Next Generation
Windows Services (NGWS)

There was a need to provide

a unified development
platform to develop
different types of Windows-
based applications

@AramT87
Replacing the need for
developers to learn different
languages and frameworks
for Windows-based
development:
VB, ASP, C++, and Java

Another major need was

to fix the complexity of
deploying COM/ActiveX
libraries

@AramT87
Having multiple applications
depending on different versions
of same shared DLL introduced a
phenomenon known as DLL Hell, a
specific version of Dependency
Hell

By introducing strongly-typed
assemblies, side-by-side
execution, global assembly cache
(GAC), and version control, DLL
Hell was addressed and contained
with the introduction of
.NET Framework

In early 2000, a first version of

.NET Framework 1 beta was
released
@AramT87
 The Rise
of
.NET Framework
(2002 - 2003)

@AramT87
2002-2003
.NET Framework 1.x

The official release of the first

version of the original .NET Platform
(or .NET Framework) in 2002

Announcement of:

C# 1.x
VB.NET 7.x (Replacing VB6)
ASP.NET 1.x

Key technologies:
Common Language Runtime (CLR)
Base Class Library (BCL)
Windows Forms (WinForms)
ADO.NET data access technology to
replace ADO
@AramT87
 The Age of
Web & Enterprise
Advanced
Development
(2005 - 2008)

@AramT87
2005
.NET Framework 2.0
Major language upgrades

Announcement of:
C# 2.0
VB.NET 8.0
ASP.NET 2.0
F# 1.0

Key technologies:
ADO.NET Enhancements
Generics, Nullable Types,
Anonymous Methods, Partial
Classes.
Official introduction of F# as a
first-class functional language for
the .NET platform
@AramT87
2006-2008
.NET Framework 3.x
Major and revolutionary features

Announcement of:
C# 3.x
VB.NET 9.0
ASP.NET 3.5

Key technologies:
WCF for building service oriented
architecture
WPF for building rich UI desktop
applications
WF for automating business processes
LINQ for querying databases and
objects
Entity Framework ORM
ASP.NET AJAX

@AramT87
 The Age of
Platform
Maturity
&
Optimization
(2010 - 2019)

@AramT87
2010-2019
.NET Framework 4.0 - 4.8
Performance Optimizations and New
Language Features

Key Technologies:
Parallel Programming (4.0)
F# 2.0 - 4.0
Asynchronous Programming
(async/await, 4.5)
Web API (4.5)
Cross-platform Development
(Preview of ASP.NET Core, 4.6)
C# 6 introduced expression-
bodied members, string
interpolation (4.6)
Compatibility, security, and
performance enhancements
(4.7-4.8) @AramT87
 The Age of
Cross-Platform
Development &
Open Source
Involvement
.NET Core
(2016 - 2020)

@AramT87
2016
.NET Core 1.0 &
.NET Standard 1.0

A new mindset

Announcement of:
C# 7.0
VB.NET 15.0
ASP.NET Core 1.0

Key technologies:
Cross-Platform Support – Windows,
Linux, macOS.
Lightweight ADO.NET Core – Faster
database access.
.NET Standard to provide a common
API set to unify the .NET ecosystem
C#: Pattern Matching, tuple
enhancements
@AramT87
2017
.NET Core 2.0
Major enhancements, optimizations,
few language features

Announcement of:
C# 7.2
VB.NET 15.5
ASP.NET Core 2.0
F# 4.1

Key technologies:
Better compatibility and API
support with .NET Standard 2.0
Razor pages
Massive improvements on ASP.NET
Core

@AramT87
2019-2020
.NET Core 3.0, 3.1
Major windows & web development
enhancements

Announcement of:
C# 8.0
VB.NET 16.0
ASP.NET Core 3.x
F# 4.7

Key technologies:
Support for WPF & WinForms on
Windows.
Introduced gRPC, Blazor, and ARM64
support for .NET Core.
.NET Core 3.1 became an LTS release.
C#: index/range operators, read-only
members, switch expressions,
Enhanced pattern matching types
@AramT87
 The Age of
Modern .NET
Or
.NET
(2020 - ?)

@AramT87
.NET 5 - 2020
Unification of the different .NET
ecosystems under a unified name
.NET, new language features, web dev
enhancements

Announcement of:
C# 9.0
VB.NET 16.0
ASP.NET Core 5.0
F# 5.0

Key technologies:
C# 9.0: records, init-only
properties, relational and logical
patterns, and default interface
methods.
More enhancements on ASP.NET
Core, Blazor
@AramT87
.NET 6 - 2021
Adoption of the modern lifecycle policy, New
language features, web dev enhancements
with minimal APIs

Announcement of:
C# 10.0
ASP.NET Core 6.0
F# 6.0

Key technologies:
C# 10.0: Introduced record struct, global
using directives, file-scoped namespace,
and extended property pattern matching.
ASP.NET Core 6.0: Further enhancements
to Blazor, minimal APIs, and performance.
Blazor Hybrid Apps
.NET MAUI for cross-platform
development
Yearly major release, alternating between
STS (Standard Term Support) and LTS
(Long Term Support), as part of the
(Modern Lifecycle Policy)
@AramT87
.NET 7 - 2022
STS release, Language and cloud-
native development features.

Announcement of:
C# 11.0
ASP.NET Core 7.0
F# 7.0

Key technologies:
C# 11.0: list patterns, new
required Keyword, raw string
literals, and generic math support.
ASP.NET Core 7.0: Focused on
performance, security, and new
cloud-native features.

@AramT87
.NET 8 - 2023
LTS release, Language and cloud-native
development features (.NET Aspire).

Announcement of:
C# 12.0
ASP.NET Core 8.0
F# 7.1

Key technologies:
C# 12.0: Primary Constructors,
Collection Expressions, alias any type,
default lambda params, inline arrays
ASP.NET Core 8.0: Focused on minimal
API improvements, Blazor Unified
Rendering Model, and new cloud-native
features mainly .NET Aspire
Cryptography Addition: SHA-3

@AramT87
.NET 9 - 2024
STS release, the most performance
optimized release thus far.

Announcement of:
C# 13.0
ASP.NET Core 9.0
F# 8.0

Key technologies:
C# 13.0: Params Collections, new lock
type, new escape sequence \e, use
index-from-end operator ^ to init
arrays, relaxed constraints on ref
struct and ref var
ASP.NET Core 9.0: Skyrocket
performance of minimal APIs, Static
Asset Delivery Optimization,
Cryptography additions: KMAC

@AramT87
.NET 10 - 2025
Upcoming major LTS release, currently
in preview 6

Announcement of:
C# 14.0
ASP.NET Core 10.0
F# 10.0 ?

Key technologies:
C# 14.0: extension members and
properties, field keyword, Unbound
generic types and nameof, Simple
lambda parameters with modifiers,
More partial members
ASP.NET Core 10.0: Blazor script as
static web asset, and
enhancements

@AramT87
 Found this useful?

Consider Reposting

Aram Tchekrekjian @AramT87

 Thank You
Follow me for more content

Aram Tchekrekjian

AramT87

Get Free Tips and Tutorials in .NET and C#

Join 950+ Readers

CodingSonata.com/newsletters