Supported Languages and Releases
Latest .NET Release: .NET 8 (LTS)
.NET 8, released in November 2023, is the latest Long Term Support (LTS) release. It brings significant performance improvements, new features for web, cloud, and mobile development, and enhanced tooling.
Key features include:
- Native AOT compilation for smaller, faster apps
- ASP.NET Core enhancements for modern web development
- Performance improvements across the board
- C# 12 features and language innovation
Language Support by .NET Release
| .NET Release | Supported C# Version | Supported F# Version | Supported Visual Basic Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .NET 8 (LTS) | C# 12 | F# 8 | Visual Basic .NET 14 | Active LTS |
| .NET 7 | C# 11 | F# 7 | Visual Basic .NET 13 | Current |
| .NET 6 (LTS) | C# 10 | F# 6 | Visual Basic .NET 12 | Serviced |
| .NET 5 | C# 9 | F# 5 | Visual Basic .NET 11 | End-of-Life |
| .NET Core 3.1 (LTS) | C# 8 | F# 4.7 | Visual Basic .NET 10 | End-of-Life |
| .NET Core 3.0 | C# 8 | F# 4.7 | Visual Basic .NET 10 | End-of-Life |
| .NET Core 2.1 (LTS) | C# 7.3 | F# 4.5 | Visual Basic .NET 10 | End-of-Life |
For detailed information on specific features and compatibility within each language version, please refer to the API Reference and individual language documentation.
Release Lifecycle and Support
Microsoft offers different support lifecycles for .NET releases to meet various development needs:
- Long Term Support (LTS): Releases are supported for three years from their initial release. These are recommended for production workloads due to their stability and extended support.
- Current: Releases are supported for 18 months from their initial release. They offer the latest features and innovations.
- End-of-Life: These releases are no longer supported and do not receive updates, including security patches. Migration to a supported version is highly recommended.
Always ensure you are using a supported release for your projects to benefit from the latest features, performance enhancements, and security updates.