Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime installs the necessary runtime and associated files for applications that use the .NET Framework.

The differences between .NET 8.0 and .NET 9.0 are significant in terms of performance, support, and features.

.NET 8.0 is designated as a Long-Term Support (LTS) version, which means it will receive updates and support until November 2026. This is advantageous for organizations that require stability and long-term planning in their development lifecycle.

Microsoft's programming model, .NET, is a comprehensive and consistent platform for developing applications that offer visually stunning user experiences, secure communication, and the ability to model various business processes. The latest version of .NET, built on the performance enhancements introduced in .NET 7, further optimizes the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, garbage collector, and runtime, resulting in faster startup times, improved overall application performance, and reduced memory usage.

The .NET Desktop Runtime works alongside older Framework versions, allowing applications based on earlier versions to continue running on the targeted version by default.

This Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime version boasts numerous performance improvements throughout the platform. It now includes Dynamic Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO), a new code generator that optimizes your code based on its actual usage. This feature is enabled by default and can enhance the performance of your applications by up to 20%. The AVX-512 instruction set, which is now supported, lets you perform parallel operations on larger sets of data, thus allowing you to process more data in less time. Additionally, numerical and other primitive types now implement a new formattable and parsable interface that makes it possible for them to format and parse as UTF-8 directly without any transcoding overhead.

The package includes both the .NET Runtime and the ASP.NET Core Runtime, which are essential for hosting stand-alone apps on Windows Servers. Additionally, the ASP.NET Core Module for IIS is included and can be installed separately on servers without installing the .NET Runtime.

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How to Check Which Microsoft .NET Version is Installed

Troubleshooting Microsoft .NET Framework Installations and Uninstallations

What is Microsoft .Net Framework or Runtimes?