Microsoft has introduced experimental support for the Scalable Vector Extension (SVE) in the .NET runtime, a SIMD instruction set for ARM64 CPUs. Additionally, a new compiler optimization known as “strength reduction” has been implemented for loops, replacing loop operations with faster, logically equivalent operations. .NET 9 Preview 7 now includes Dynamic Adaptation to Application Sizes (DATAS) enabled by default in the runtime.
In terms of the SDK, improvements have been made for container publishing with insecure registries and more consistent environment variables are now available. The preview also introduces workload sets, a feature that allows users to have greater control over the workloads they install and the frequency of changes to those workloads.
Library improvements in the preview include the complete removal of the BinaryFormatter due to security reasons. The X509CertificateLoader class has been introduced to replace various “content-sniffing” methods with a more streamlined design. Additionally, the System.IO.Compression APIs now utilize zlb-ng for more efficient and consistent processing across different hardware and operating systems.
