.NET SDK

.NET SDK is a free, cross-platform, and open-source software framework for Windows and other compatible platforms, that enables software developers to develop and deploy managed software projects utilizing a wide set of editing, compiling, runtime, and deploying tools and services developed by Microsoft Corporation.

Originally released in 2016 as the successor of the legacy .Net Framework platform, the modern .NET SDK (also previously known as .NET Core) has received numerous upgrades over the years, culminating with the currently active version 7 that brings dramatic improvements over the previous .Net 6.0 platform released in late 2021.

.NET 7 consists of the latest version of Visual Studio 2022 programming editor, three separate runtime packs (.NET Runtime 7, ASP.NET Core Runtime 7, and .NET Desktop Runtime 7), and built-in support for the latest version of C#, F#, and Visual Basic programming languages.

Projects that are managed within .Net 7 can be deployed on a wide variety of target destinations, including PC, mobile, gaming consoles, VR, web, and distributed cloud platforms, with tools that allow streamlined porting, unified codebases, and the ability to create microservices that run on Docker containers. The developers are also empowered to implement and manage all the latest technologies, such as machine learning algorithms, IoT services, AI processing, and more.

Compared to the .Net 6, this latest framework introduced a professional set of performance enhancements, tools for cross-platform development, the introduction of a unified Base Class Library, built-in container support, enhanced Linux support, native support for ARM64 CPU instruction set, a new set of streamlined tools for the development of cloud-native apps, and much more. .Net libraries have received numerous API enhancements, and developers are now capable to easier manage large projects with new Observability tools. C# 11 programming language has introduced support for generic math and many other enhancements.

PROS

• Cross-platform and open-source
• Wide set of editing, compiling, runtime and deploying tools
• Can be deployed on various platforms
• Built-in support for latest programming languages and technologies
• Professional set of performance enhancements
• Streamlined tools for cloud-native app development

CONS

• None

.NET SDK has a separate installation package for all types of supported CPU architectures that can run Windows OS (x64, x86, arm64], as well as separate versions for Linux and macOS in both installer and command line instruction forms.