What Changes to Expect in the Upcoming ASP.NET Core 3.0

While we await the next version of ASP.NET Core, Microsoft is also working on major updates in its next release. It includes project composition with frameworks, better .NET Core integration, and third-party open-source integration. All these changes are aimed to make the development process easier and faster for you.

Let’s have a broad look at them:

Packages vs. Frameworks

The way a project reference and run on ASP.NET Core is changing with the versions and years. The 1.0 of ASP.NET Core was just packages, and appeared as NuGet package reference in projects. In version 2.1, ASP.NET Core evolved as a .NET Core shared framework. The updates in 3.0 are designed to overcome the challenges faced while working with the previous versions of ASP.NET Core by the users.

As part of these changes, few important sub-components are not available in the ASP.NET Core 3.0’s shared framework:

1) Json.NET (Newtonsoft.Json)

2) Entity Framework Core (Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.*)

The new version will continue to ship packages providing integration for the ASP.NET Core elements that rely on Json.NET features like the JSON format in MVC. However, the default experiences will alter to utilize the new-in-box JSON APIs.

In 3.0, the Entity Framework Core will ship in the form of pure NuGet packages. It makes the shipping model similar to all other data access libraries available on .NET while providing support for various .NET platforms.

Leveraging .NET Core to the Fullest

As announced earlier by Microsoft, the .NET Framework will get fewer features of the new platform and language coming to .NET Core. It is due to the .NET Core Framework’s in-place update nature and its desire to limit the changes, which might break the existing applications. To ensure ASP.NET Core can leverage all the improvements in the upcoming .NET Core version, ASP.NET Core will run only on .NET Core, and we can think of it as being part of .NET Core.

Customers using ASP.NET Core on .NET Framework can continue with that in a fully supported environment through the 2.1 LTS release. Also, the support and servicing for 2.1 will be there for some time as per the .NET Core support policy.

Third-party Open-source Integration

At the same time, Microsoft is drawing a clear distinction of what constitutes the 3.0’s platform. It is removing the third-party components as many higher-level scenarios can be best assisted with established and well supported open-source components. Microsoft will provide support and assistance to the developers‘ community and its customers to ensure that these components integrate seamlessly with ASP.NET Core applications.

The support will be in different forms ranging from first-class integration APIs & packages, contributions made to the existing libraries, documentation available on the official ASP.NET Core docs site, processes for dealing with bug fixes, security and more.

Microsoft is also working on streamlining the processes for creating HTTP APIs through new API Conventions and analyzers, which can facilitate the working of Open API libraries such as Swashbuckle and NSwag.

Conclusion

Gear up for the new ASP.NET Core 3.0, look for ASP.NET programmers to leverage the fantastic features coming with the update.