.NET Unification Continues with .NET 5.0

• .NET 5.0, now generally available, is the successor to .NET Core and the latest step in Microsoft’s effort to unify .NET technologies.
• Merging of Xamarin mobile application technologies into the unified .NET has been delayed until .NET 6, which is expected in Nov. 2021.
• Teams working with previous .NET offerings will have viable migration paths but should use .NET 5.0 for new projects if possible.
• Some .NET Framework applications are not compatible with .NET 5.0 and will need to stay with .NET Framework 4.8, which will be the final version of the .NET Framework.

.NET offerings deliver class libraries (sets of development APIs) and a runtime environment required by managed code applications in programming languages such as C#, Visual Basic, and F#. .NET 5.0 continues Microsoft’s push to deliver a single .NET offering.

“Core” Dropped from Name to Signify Single Offering

.NET technologies have been delivered for several environments, and many versions have arrived, which has helped developers leverage skills across platforms and incorporate the latest innovations into applications. However, the variety of offerings has also led to difficulties with cross and backward compatibility and version interoperability.