Microsoft has followed by the release of .NET Core 3.0 earlier this year with the launch of .NET Core 3.1. This latest version of the open source framework is not packed with new features. Instead, Microsoft has focused on fixes and stability improvements.
Because of that lack of features, we can file .NET Core 3.1 as a minor update. However, it is worth your while because of the mentioned improvements and bug fixes.
It is also necessary because .NET Core 3.1 is a long-term release that Microsoft will support for the next three years. You may remember .NET Core 3.0 will only be supported until March 2020.
While the changelog is limited, there are some notable additions. For example, Microsoft has introduced support for building C++/CLI components that target .NET Core in Visual Studio 2019. For this to work, you’ll also need the “Desktop development with C++” workload and the “C++/CLI support”.
Windows App Controls
With .NET Core 3.1, some controls in Windows applications have been removed. This could impact some projects, but Microsoft says the removed controls have been replaced by better ones. Here the list of control changes:
| Old Control (API) | Recommended Replacement | Other associated APIs removed |
| DataGrid | DataGridView | DataGridCell, DataGridRow, DataGridTableCollection, DataGridColumnCollection, DataGridTableStyle, DataGridColumnStyle, DataGridLineStyle, DataGridParentRowsLabel, DataGridParentRowsLabelStyle, DataGridBoolColumn, DataGridTextBox, GridColumnStylesCollection, GridTableStylesCollection, HitTestType |
| ToolBar | ToolStrip | ToolBarAppearance |
| ToolBarButton | ToolStripButton | ToolBarButtonClickEventArgs, ToolBarButtonClickEventHandler, ToolBarButtonStyle, ToolBarTextAlign |
| ContextMenu | ContextMenuStrip | |
| Menu | ToolStripDropDown, ToolstripDropDownMenu | MenuItemCollection |
| MainMenu | MenuStrip | |
| MenuItem | ToolstripMenuItem |
You can read about what’s changed in .NET Core 3.1 on GitHub. You can download .NET Core 3.1 from here.
.NET 5
While showcasing .NET Core 3 at Build 2019 in May, Microsoft also announced .NET 5. The company said the release will replace the naming convention of .NET Core and .NET Framework, rolling both into a single product.
In its explanation blog post, Microsoft says .NET 5 will be a merger of classic .NET Framework with the open source Core. This will create a single .NET platform, something users of the software framework have been asking for.
