InfoQ Homepage Language Design Content on InfoQ
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C# 9: Simplified Parameter Null Validation
Simplified parameter null validation has been promoted to a C# 9 feature. This narrowly tailored feature reduces the amount of code needed to validate non-null parameters to a single character in the function signature.
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C# 9: Partial Method Enhancements for Source Generators
Source Generators in C# 9 will allow compiler-extensions to inspect code and then inject additional source code at compile-time. This injected code is then incorporated into the very same assembly that was being compiled. In order to facilitate this capability, Microsoft is removing most of the restrictions on Partial Methods.
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C# 9: towards First Class Support for Scripting
One of the defining characteristics of “scripting” languages is they don’t need any boilerplate. The very first line of a file can be the declarations and statements you would normally see inside a function. In the updated Top-level statements proposal, this capability is planned for C# 9.
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C# Futures: Primary Constructors
We last mentioned primary constructors in 2014 when it was removed from the candidate list for C# 6 and VB 12. Late last year, Primary Constructors reappeared as a candidate for C# 9.
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C# Futures: Covariant Return Types
A frequent API design problem is the inability to use a more specific return type when overriding a method. Proposal 49, which is now a C# 9 candidate, seeks to correct this issue.
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ECMAScript's Top-Level Await Proposal Implemented in V8, Babel and Webpack
The top-level await's ECMAScript proposal, which reached Stage 3 last year, is now implemented in the V8 JavaScript engine, and supported by Webpack and Babel. Top-level await enables dynamic dependency pathing, resource initialization, and dependency fallbacks at module import time. Top-level await results in a non-deterministic module execution order.
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C# Futures: Simplified Parameter Null Validation
At first glance, proposal #2145 seems like a logical extension to C# 8’s Nullable Reference Types feature. The basic idea is developers would no longer need to explicitly add argument null checks to methods that accept non-nullable parameters. However, this has become quite contentious.
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C# 9 Proposals: Module Initializers
The module initializer proposal has been promoted to C# 9 candidacy. This would act like a static constructor in C#, but rather than applying to one class it applies to the entire assembly.
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Microsoft Presents Static TypeScript, a Fast Subset of TypeScript Targeting Embedded Devices
Microsoft recently submitted a research paper introducing Static TypeScript (STS), a subset of TypeScript targeting low-resource embedded devices, to the Managed Programming Languages and Runtimes 2019 (MPLR 2019) international conference. STS programs may run on devices with only 16 kB of RAM faster than embedded interpreters would, which would extend battery life of these devices.
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Preview of C# 8.x
Even though C# 8.0 is still months away, planning has begun for C# 8.x. Some of these features are new, while others were previously considered for C# 8.
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C# 8 Nullable Reference Types Update
Work continues on nullable refence types for C# 8, revealing edge cases that need to be addressed before the final release and new opportunities for reducing the amount of boilerplate developers have to write.
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C# 8 Pattern Matching Enhancements
C# 7 laid the groundwork for pattern matching, but a lot of features had to be left on the cutting room floor. With the extra time C# 8 needs, many of these are being picked up.
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C# 8 Nullable Value Type Enhancements
First introduced in .NET 2, very little has changed for Nullable<T> over the last decade and a half, but that looks like it is about to change. Much of the work going into supporting nullable reference types in C# 8 may be applied to nullable value types.
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C# Default Interface Methods Update
As support for Default Interface Methods gets closer to completion, potential issues are raised. While much has been accomplished, this is a complex feature and many of the specifics haven’t been settled yet.
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C# 8 More Small Features
Though C# 8 is supposed to be released this year and the roadmap for C# 8.x and 9 are beginning to be formed, Microsoft is continuing to approve features for the next release.