C# Version History

C# was first introduced with .NET Framework 1.0 in the year 2002 and evolved much since then. The following table lists important features introduced in each version of C#:

Version	.NET Framework	Visual Studio	Important Features
C# 1.0	.NET Framework 1.0/1.1	Visual Studio .NET 2002	Basic features
C# 2.0	.NET Framework 2.0	Visual Studio 2005	Generics Partial types Anonymous methods Iterators Nullable types Private setters (properties) Method group conversions (delegates) Covariance and Contra-variance Static classes
C# 3.0	.NET Framework 3.0\3.5	Visual Studio 2008	Implicitly typed local variables Object and collection initializers Auto-Implemented properties Anonymous types Extension methods Query expressions Lambda expressions Expression trees Partial Methods
C# 4.0	.NET Framework 4.0	Visual Studio 2010	Dynamic binding (late binding) Named and optional arguments Generic co- and contravariance Embedded interop types
C# 5.0	.NET Framework 4.5	Visual Studio 2012/2013	Async features Caller information
C# 6.0	.NET Framework 4.6	Visual Studio 2013/2015	Expression Bodied Methods Auto-property initializer nameof Expression Primary constructor Await in catch block Exception Filter String Interpolation
C# 7.0	.NET Core 2.0	Visual Studio 2017	out variables Tuples Discards Pattern Matching Local functions Generalized async return types more..
C# 8.0	.NET Core 3.0	Visual Studio 2019	Readonly members Default interface methods Using declarations Static local functions Disposable ref structs Nullable reference types more..
C# 9.0	.NET 5.0	Visual Studio 2019	Records Init-only properties Top-level statements Init accessors and readonly fields With-expressions Value-based equality more..
C# 10.0	.NET 6.0	Visual Studio 2022	Record structs Global using directives File-scoped namespace declaration Extended Proptery Patterns Null Parameter Checking Constant interpolated strings more..

Learn how to setup a development environment for C# in the next section.