The following describes how to incorporate health checks into a.NET Core application:

1. Set up the NuGet package for Health Checks
You must install Microsoft.Extensions.Diagnostics in your project.The NuGet package HealthChecks. You can accomplish this by include the package reference in your project file or by using the Package Manager Console:
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Diagnostics.HealthChecks

2. Configure Health Checks
In your Startup.cs file, configure the health checks in the ConfigureServices method:
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Diagnostics.HealthChecks;

public class Startup
{
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        services.AddHealthChecks();
        // Add other services...
    }

    public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app)
    {
        app.UseRouting();

        app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>
        {
            endpoints.MapHealthChecks("/health");
            // Map other endpoints...
        });
    }
}

A health check endpoint at /health is configured in this example.

3. Explain Health Examinations
By including checks for other components, you can define health checks. You may wish to verify the state of an external API, a database connection, or any other crucial element. These checks can be included in the ConfigureServices method:
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddHealthChecks()
        .AddSqlServer("YourConnectionString", name: "DatabaseHealthCheck")
        .AddUrlGroup(new Uri("https://api.example.com"), name: "ApiHealthCheck");
    // Add other services...
}

4. Execute and Verify
Launch your application at this point, and go to the health check endpoint (http://localhost:5000/health, for example). A JSON response with the status of each health check ought to appear.

In summary

• The status of each check and any further information you supply are usually included in health check responses.
• Health checks can be modified and expanded to meet your unique needs.

It's a good idea to include health checks if you want to make sure that your.NET Core application is reliable, particularly in production scenarios where you want to keep an eye on any problems and take proactive measures to address them.

The differences between.NET 7 and.NET 8 can be better understood by contrasting their compatibility, integration powers, performance, and diagnostic features. A thorough grasp of these frameworks can also be attained by exploring the new features added in.NET 8 and comparing them with those of.NET 7. Examining these specifics can help identify the best version of the Microsoft.NET framework.

The improvements in.NET 8 constitute a noteworthy achievement for Microsoft, offering an extensive feature set with the goals of strengthening security, enhancing performance, enabling smooth integration, and streamlining maintenance. The question of whether the new features in.NET 8 are superior to those in.NET 7 is still up for dispute.

Examining the main distinctions between.NET 7 and.NET 8 is essential to obtain understanding and make wise choices about a possible upgrade. With the clarity this article will offer, it will be possible to comprehend the advantages and improvements brought forth by.NET 8.

Despite being created by Microsoft,.NET 8 and.NET 7 differ significantly. We've divided up their differences into categories based on a number of important factors, such as integration capabilities, cross-platform compatibility, performance, diagnostics, observability, and support services. It will enable you to fully comprehend how the two differ from one another.

1. Enhancements in Performance
Performance is one of the most important factors that developers consider when assessing technology for building applications. Notably,.NET 8 exhibits better optimization than.NET 7 in terms of speed and efficiency. A JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler is used by the Microsoft.NET framework in both versions, but in.NET 8, substantial improvements have been made to speed up code processing, leading to faster process execution and shorter loading times.

Furthermore, significant improvements to the runtime environment and garbage collector in.NET 8 also add to increased efficiency. With these improvements, companies can save a great deal of resources and maintain high performance even during busy hours.

2. Development Across Platforms
When it comes to facilitating the development of cross-platform compatible applications,.NET 8 outperforms.NET 7. .NET 8 is notably more capable than.NET 7 of facilitating the creation of programs customized for different hardware intrinsics.

• AVX-512
• Vector 512
• Optimized support for ARM64 and WebAssembly

These enhancements expand the accessibility of your program, making it available to a larger range of users on desktop and mobile devices, covering a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, and other platforms.

3. Assistance for Platforms
For every.NET version, Microsoft offers different support durations based on two main policies: LTS (Long Term Support) and STS (Short Term Support). Long Term Support (LTS) for the.NET 8 version ensures Microsoft's assistance from November 14, 2023, to November 10, 2026. On the other hand, May 14th, 2024 is when support for the Dotnet 7 version is supposed to end. Selecting.NET 8 guarantees improved upkeep and durability for the well-being of your program.

4. Consolidation
In contrast to.NET 7, which necessitates that developers create unique code in order to integrate with APIs and other components,.NET 8 provides more convenience. Major integrated development environments, APIs, and services are all pre-supported by default. Additionally, the debugging features have been much enhanced, enabling better process execution and problem correction with less time commitment.

New Features in.NET 8
Now that we know why.NET 8 is better than.NET 7, it's imperative that you be familiar with all of its key characteristics. Comprehending these fundamental features of.NET 8 is essential as it confirms its place as a reliable technology for application development, outperforming.NET 7.

1. An improved source generator
When it comes to earlier iterations, the source generator included in.NET 8 is a major improvement. Microsoft has made significant improvements to System.Text.Json, bringing it closer to parity with the reflection-based serializer. Among the improvements included in.NET 8 are:

• Support for the "init" and "required" properties when using the source generator to serialize types.
• source-generated code formatted more neatly and systematically.
• Two new diagnoses, SYSLIB1034 and SYSLIB1039, have been added.
• Support for JsonStringEnumConverter<TEnum> is integrated into.NET 8.

2. Original AOT
By compiling only the essential parts rather than the complete codebase,.NET 8 apps improve code use with native AOT (Ahead-of-Time) compilation.

For instance, just the code specifically responsible for the login feature will be used when a user enters in with a.NET 8 application; the rest of the codebase stays in its current configuration. Thus, there are several benefits to this strategy.

• Elimination of the need for a Just-In-Time compiler.
• It increased the loading speed.
• Conservation of network and memory resources.
• Reduced execution time and resource costs.
• Improved user experience and satisfaction.

3. Enhanced Artificial Intelligence Skills
AI integration is now more stable, quick, and smooth with.NET 8. The AI components in.NET 8 are the outcome of multiple technologies working together, including Qdrant, Microsoft Teams, Azure OpenAI, Milvus, and Azure Cognitive Search. Together, these many technological advances enable.NET 8 applications to leverage sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, producing outputs that are accurate and exact.
  
4. Elevated .NET MAUI
.NET 8 brings significant enhancements to .NET MAUI. Now, a single codebase caters to API 34 and XCode 15, enabling seamless operation of your .NET MAUI application across WinUI, iOS, Android, and Mac Catalyst systems.

5. SHA-3 Hashing Primitives
Compared to .NET 7, the security enhancements in .NET 8 are notably robust. It introduces support for configuring the SHA-3 hashing algorithm, ensuring compatibility with APIs that complement SHA-3 within your .NET 8 applications. The SHA-3 cryptography algorithms available in .NET 8 include.

• SHA3_256, SHA3_384, and SHA3_512 (for Hashing purposes)
• HMACSHA3_256, HMACSHA3_384, and HMACSHA3_512 (for HMAC usage)
• HashAlgorithmName.SHA3_256, HashAlgorithmName.SHA3_384, and HashAlgorithmName.SHA3_512 (for developer-configurable algorithm settings)
• RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA3_256, RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA3_384, and RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA3_512 (for RSA OAEP encryption)

6. HTTPS Proxy

Support: Man-in-the-middle attacks are prevented with HTTPS proxy support, which.NET 8 brings to improve the security of client connections. By creating encrypted communication channels, this function protects the confidentiality and integrity of data.

Should you upgrade from .NET 7 to .NET 8?
Considering the analysis of various factors, .NET 8 is more advanced and proficient than .NET 7. So, you should upgrade your application to .NET 8.

Conclusion
.NET 8 stands out as a remarkable software development technology by Microsoft, surpassing .NET 7 in every aspect. From performance and integration to C# code compilation, observability, and support, .NET 8 excels in every aspect when compared. Moreover, .NET experts and professionals widely endorse .NET 8 for their projects.

In web development, response compression is an essential technique used to maximize the speed and responsiveness of HTTP applications. Response compression improves user experience, speeds up page loads, and uses less bandwidth by lowering the size of HTTP responses.

Advantages of Compression Response:

• Enhanced Performance: Compression speeds up page loads by reducing the quantity of data sent over the network.
• Decreased Bandwidth Usage: Less data transfer from compressed answers results in lower hosting and bandwidth expenses.
• Improved SEO: Page load times are taken into account by search engines, which could result in a website that loads faster ranking better in search results.

Response Compression Implementation in.NET
Middleware can be used to implement response compression in a.NET web application. This is an example that makes use of AddResponseCompression, a.NET middleware.
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddResponseCompression(options =>
{
    options.EnableForHttps = true;
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseResponseCompression();
app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");
app.Run();

In this example, EnableForHttps is set to true, but caution is advised due to potential security vulnerabilities like CRIME and BREACH attacks. It's recommended to use anti-forgery tokens to mitigate these risks.

builder.Services.AddResponseCompression(options =>
{
    options.EnableForHttps = true;
    options.Providers.Add<BrotliCompressProvider>();
    options.Providers.Add<GzipCompressProvider>();
    options.MimeTypes = ResponseCompressionDefaults.MimeTypes;
});

Compression Levels
Each compression provider has different compression levels.

builder.Services.Configure<BrotliCompressionProviderOptions>(options =>
{
    options.Level = CompressionLevel.SmallestSize;
});
builder.Services.Configure<GzipCompressProviderOptions>(options =>
{
    options.Level = CompressionLevel.Optimal;
});

These levels include Optimal, Fastest, No Compression, and Smallest Size.

Custom Providers
You can also create custom compression providers by implementing the ICompressionProvider interface.
builder.Services.AddResponseCompression(options =>
{
    options.Providers.Add<BrotliCompressionProvider>();
    options.Providers.Add<GzipCompressionProvider>();
    options.Providers.Add<CustomCompressionProvider>();
});

When to Compress and When not?

Compress responses that are not natively compressed (e.g., CSS, JS, HTML, XML, JSON). Avoid compressing natively compressed assets (e.g., PNG) and smaller files (150-1000 bytes).

Verifying Compression
To ensure compression is working, use middleware, set compression levels, and send requests from tools like Postman with different values of Accept-Encoding in the header.

Default MIME Types Supported
Common MIME types supported by default include text/CSS, text/XML, text/JSON, text/HTML, text/plain, application/XML, application/JSON, application/WASM, and application/javascript.

One useful method for improving the performance and user experience of web applications is to add response compression. Smaller HTTP response sizes result in quicker page loads, less bandwidth used, and possibly higher search engine ranks. A strong framework for effectively handling response compression is provided by the AddResponseCompression middleware in the.NET environment, in conjunction with providers such as Brotli and Gzip compression. It is imperative to take security concerns into account, particularly when enabling HTTPS compression. It is recommended to take steps to address potential vulnerabilities such as CRIME and BREACH attacks, such as implementing anti-forgery tokens.

Developers can adapt compression algorithms to individual application requirements thanks to the flexibility of bespoke compression providers. It is possible to adjust compression levels according to optimization, speed, or file size considerations. It's important to know when to apply compression, focusing on replies that aren't already compressed and avoiding it on smaller or previously compressed data. It is important to confirm that the compression settings you have put in place are working as intended by using tools such as Postman to verify the efficiency of the compression with different Accept-Encoding header variants.

Developers can further improve the effectiveness of response compression by covering a variety of frequently used content kinds by utilizing default MIME types for compression. To put it simply, response compression is a crucial component of web development that, when used carefully, greatly improves an application's overall functionality, responsiveness, and cost-effectiveness..

An essential feature to the asynchronous programming paradigm in.NET is channels. They offer a thread-safe method of data transfer between producers and consumers, improving application performance and scalability. The System is the foundation of channels.Threading.Namespaces and channels provide an adaptable and effective way to communicate.

How to Make a Channel in.NET?
To get started, let's develop a basic example that shows how to use and create a channel in.NET 8.0.

using System.Threading.Channels;

Console.WriteLine("Channels In .NET");

// Create an unbounded channel
var channel = Channel.CreateUnbounded<int>();

// Producer writing data to the channel
async Task ProduceAsync()
{
    for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    {
        await channel.Writer.WriteAsync(i);
        Console.WriteLine($"Produced: {i}");
    }
    channel.Writer.Complete();
}

// Consumer reading data from the channel
async Task ConsumeAsync()
{
    while (await channel.Reader.WaitToReadAsync())
    {
        while (channel.Reader.TryRead(out var item))
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"Consumed: {item}");
        }
    }
}

// Run producer and consumer asynchronously
var producerTask = ProduceAsync();
var consumerTask = ConsumeAsync();

// Wait for both tasks to complete
await Task.WhenAll(producerTask, consumerTask);

Console.ReadLine();

An explanation of the example:

• Using Channel, we construct an infinite channel of integers.ConstructUnbounded<int>().
• As the producer, the ProduceAsync() method uses a channel to write data to the channel.Author.Use WriteAsync().
• As the consumer, the ConsumeAsync() method uses the channel to read data from it.Peruser.TryRead().
• Task allows both producer and consumer tasks to run asynchronously.WhenAll() to await their finish

Channel Properties in.NET
There are various options available with.NET Channels to manage data flow:

• Boundary and Non-Boundary Channels: You can decide whether to let an infinite amount of objects through or restrict the capacity of the channel.
• Completion: Use the channel to indicate that the channel is finished.Author.To indicate that the data stream has ended, use Complete().
• Cancellation: To manage the channel activities lifetime, use cancellation tokens.
• numerous Writers/Readers: Use channels to properly support numerous writers or readers.

We can utilize Dapper, an ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) or, more accurately, a Micro ORM, to interface with the database in our projects. Dapper allows us to write SQL statements just like we would in a SQL Server. Dapper works well since it doesn't convert.NET queries into SQL.

Dapper's SQL Injection safety is crucial to know since it allows us to perform parameterized queries, which is something we should do at all times. The fact that Dapper supports a variety of database providers is another crucial factor. In order to query our database, it offers helpful extension methods that extend ADO.NET's IDbConnection. Writing queries that work with our database provider is a must, of course.

Company.cs
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;

namespace DapperApp.Model
{
    public class Company
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }

        [Display(Name = "Company Name")]
        [Required(ErrorMessage = "Company Name is required")]
        public string CompanyName { get; set; }

        [Display(Name = "Company Address")]
        [Required(ErrorMessage = "Company Address is required")]
        public string CompanyAddress { get; set; }

        [Required(ErrorMessage = "Country is required")]
        public string Country { get; set; }

        [Display(Name = "Glassdoor Rating")]
        [Range(1, 5, ErrorMessage = "Glassdoor Rating must be between 1 and 5")]
        public int GlassdoorRating { get; set; }
    }
}

HomeController.cs
using Dapper;
using DapperApp.Model;
using DapperApp.Repository;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using System.Data;

namespace DapperApp.ControllerApp
{
    public class HomeController : Controller
    {
        readonly IGenericRepository _genericController;

        public HomeController(IGenericRepository genericController)
        {
            _genericController = genericController;
        }
        // GET: HomeController
        public async Task<IActionResult> Index()
        {
            var query = "SELECT * FROM Companies";

            var companies = await _genericController.GetData<Company>(query);
            return View(companies);
        }

        // GET: HomeController/Details/5
        public async Task<IActionResult> Details(int id)
        {
            var query = "SELECT * FROM Companies WHERE Id = @Id";
            if (id == null)
            {
                return NotFound();
            }

            var company = await _genericController.GetDataById<Company>(query, id);
            if (company == null)
            {
                return NotFound();
            }

            return View(company);
        }

        // GET: HomeController/Create
        public ActionResult Create()
        {
            return View();
        }

        // POST: HomeController/Create
        [HttpPost]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public async Task<IActionResult> Create([Bind("Id,CompanyName,CompanyAddress,Country,GlassdoorRating")] Company company)
        {
            var parameters = new DynamicParameters();
            parameters.Add("CompanyName", company.CompanyName, DbType.String);
            parameters.Add("CompanyAddress", company.CompanyAddress, DbType.String);
            parameters.Add("Country", company.Country, DbType.String);
            parameters.Add("GlassdoorRating", company.GlassdoorRating, DbType.Int32);
            var query = "INSERT INTO Companies (CompanyName, CompanyAddress, Country,GlassdoorRating) VALUES (@CompanyName, @CompanyAddress, @Country, @GlassdoorRating)";

            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                await _genericController.CreateData(query, parameters);
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }
            return View(company);
        }


        // GET: HomeController/Edit/5
        public ActionResult Edit(int id)
        {
            return View();
        }

        // POST: HomeController/Edit/5
        [HttpPost]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public async Task<IActionResult> Edit(int id, [Bind("Id,CompanyName,CompanyAddress,Country,GlassdoorRating")] Company company)
        {
            if (id != company.Id)
            {
                return NotFound();
            }
            var parameters = new DynamicParameters();
            parameters.Add("CompanyName", company.CompanyName, DbType.String);
            parameters.Add("CompanyAddress", company.CompanyAddress, DbType.String);
            parameters.Add("Country", company.Country, DbType.String);
            parameters.Add("GlassdoorRating", company.GlassdoorRating, DbType.Int32);
            parameters.Add("Id", company.Id, DbType.Int32);
            var query = "UPDATE Companies SET CompanyName = @CompanyName, CompanyAddress = @CompanyAddress, Country = @Country, GlassdoorRating = @GlassdoorRating WHERE Id = @Id";

            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                await _genericController.UpdateData(query, parameters);
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }

            return View(company);
        }

        // GET: HomeController/Delete/5
        public ActionResult Delete(int id)
        {
            return View();
        }

        // POST: HomeController/Delete/5
        [HttpPost]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public async Task<IActionResult> DeleteConfirmed(int id)
        {
            var query = "DELETE FROM Companies WHERE Id = @Id";
            await _genericController.DeleteData(query, id);
            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        }
    }
}

DapperContext.cs

using System.Data;
using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;

namespace DapperApp.Context
{
    public class DapperContext
    {
        private readonly IConfiguration _configuration;
        private readonly string _connectionString;
        public DapperContext(IConfiguration configuration)
        {
            _configuration = configuration;
            _connectionString = _configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection");
        }

        public IDbConnection CreateConnection() => new SqlConnection(_connectionString);
    }
}

IGenericRepository.cs

using DapperApp.Model;

namespace DapperApp.Repository
{
    public interface IGenericRepository
    {
        Task CreateData(string query, DynamicParameters parameters);
        Task DeleteData(string query, int id);
        Task<T> GetDataById<T>(string query, int id);
        Task<IEnumerable<T>> GetData<T>(string SQL, string DbName = "TEST");
        Task UpdateData(string query, DynamicParameters parameters);
    }
}

C#

GenericRepository.cs

using DapperApp.Context;
using DapperApp.Model;
using DapperApp.Repository;
using Dapper;
using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Data;

namespace DapperApp.Repository
{
    public class GenericRepository: IGenericRepository
    {
        readonly DapperContext _context;

        public GenericRepository(DapperContext context)
        {
            this._context = context;
        }

        public async Task<IEnumerable<T>> GetData<T>(string SQL, string DbName = "TEST")
        {

            using (var connection = _context.CreateConnection())
            {
                var companies = await connection.QueryAsync<T>(SQL);
                return companies.ToList();
            }
        }
        public async Task<T> GetDataById<T>(string query, int id)
        {
            using (var connection = _context.CreateConnection())
            {
                var company = await connection.QuerySingleOrDefaultAsync<T>(query, new { id });
                return company;
            }
        }

        public async Task CreateData(string query, DynamicParameters parameters)
        {

            using (var connection = _context.CreateConnection())
            {
                await connection.ExecuteAsync(query, parameters);
            }
        }

        public async Task UpdateData(string query, DynamicParameters parameters)
        {

            using (var connection = _context.CreateConnection())
            {
                await connection.ExecuteAsync(query, parameters);
            }
        }


        public async Task DeleteData(string query, int id)
        {
            using (var connection = _context.CreateConnection())
            {
                await connection.ExecuteAsync(query, new { id });
            }
        }

    }
}