Microsoft Releases 4.6.2 Update For The .NET Framework

.NET Core might be all the rage these days, but the original .NET Framework is still being updated. Last week Microsoft upped the version number to 4.6.2 and while it doesn’t include any killer features, it’s a solid update nonetheless.

For those who enjoy verbosity, a detailed change log is available on GitHub. Otherwise, the major areas of improvement included:

  • Base Class Library
  • Common Language Runtime
  • ClickOnce
  • ASP.NET
  • SQL
  • Windows Presentation Foundation
  • Windows Communication Foundation

I know, I know, BCL and CLR changes could mean just about anything, so let’s dive in deeper for these.

The biggest fix is support for long file names and paths. Previously, this was limited to 260 characters.

The rest of the BCL changes are security-related and can be read in full on MSDN.

As for the CLR, the only significant tweak is that null reference exceptions will now provide more extensive debugging data, if the developer so wishes. As Microsoft’s Stacey Haffner explains:

In this release, we extended the CLR debugging APIs to enable the debugger to request more information and perform additional analysis when a NullReferenceException occurs. Using this information, a debugger will be able to determine which reference is null and provide this information to you, making your job easier.

The CLR did receive a bunch of bug and performance fixes, which are described at length in the release notes.

To download the framework update, you have three choices — the offline installer, the web installer and the developer pack.

Announcing .NET Framework 4.6.2 [MSDN]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


One response to “Microsoft Releases 4.6.2 Update For The .NET Framework”