Microsoft Updates .NET Framework to 4.5.2 -- Visual Studio Magazine

Microsoft Updates .NET Framework to 4.5.2

Better debugging, support for Async are among the highlights.

By Keith Ward
05/07/2014

Microsoft's released a new version of the .NET Framework that includes updates for ASP.NET, high-resolution displays and better profiling, among the enhancements.

The .NET Fundamentals Team announced the .NET Framework 4.5.2 on its blog yesterday, calling it a "highly compatible, in-place update to the.NET Framework 4, 4.5 and 4.5.1."

Some of the most significant improvements concern ASP.NET. A set of new APIs have been released, including HttpResponse.AddOnSendingHeaders and HttpResponseBase.AddOnSendingHeaders methods. These methods should be superior to PreSendRequestHeaders and PreSendRequestContent events, according to Microsoft.

A boost to Async comes with the HostingEnvironment.QueueBackgroundWorkItem method, for scheduling lightweight background work items. "ASP.NET tracks these items and prevents IIS from abruptly terminating the worker process until all background work items have completed," the blog states.

Visual Studio developers working with high-resolution screens will like the ability to add responsive design-like functionality. Called "High DPI setting," it's an opt-in feature that scales up numerous Windows Forms controls properly. One example from the blog is a ToolStipComboBox control showing a red error glyph. The glyph is nearly impossible to see at high resolution without High DPI. With it, though, it's clear.

Other updates include:

Distributed transactions enhancement that should help in building high-traffic scenarios.
New profiling APIs that are less susceptible to unexpected shutdowns.
Better activity tracing support that "enables out-of-process, Event Tracing for Windows (ETW)-based activity tracing for a larger surface area," which should be a boon for app performance management vendors.
Debugging improvements.
New workflow features.

A number of packages are available for the .NET Framework 4.5.2, including Web and Offline installers, language packs and a Developer Pack for targeting both the 4.5.2 Framework and 4.5.2 runtime.

The .NET Framework was last updated to version 4.5.1 in October 2013. The Web installer for the new version is available from the Microsoft Download Center.

About the Author

Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.

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