Top .NET Core Libraries That You Should Know in 2024

Modern software development is grappling with a sword of time, cost, and efficiency. While your clients want cost-effective and efficient software, the development team struggles to meet client expectations. If you are developing projects on a complex stack of technologies, like .NET Core, you have a challenging path ahead. From top web development tools, technologies, databases and designs, you have various things to look at.

But, are they good enough to achieve faster results?

Most probably, NO…

That’s where software libraries come into the picture. .NET Core libraries help speed up development and meet the demand while being efficient.

In this article, we shall discuss popular .NET libraries. Developers and even clients can understand how to use the .NET Core library in the .NET Framework. Each library differs from one another, and you need to know which will be the right fit for your .NET project. Let’s explore;

You will find various topics written with the top 100 libraries in the world or the top 50 .NET Core libraries in the world. They may be good, but not all 100 or 50 are going to be helpful. But those .NET Core Libraries lists can be overwhelming as you are hardly going to use all of them, and selecting from the extensive list can be confusing in most cases. So, we have picked only those that are useful and most used in .NET Core development.

AutoMapper

Automapper is one of the top .NET Core libraries that help developers reduce workload significantly. The C# library, as its name suggests, allows developers to map data from one object to another while transforming attributes (object type) from one to another.

PM> Install-Package AutoMapper

The code mapping mechanism is crucial during mapping testing, and Automapper helps resolve inter-layer conflicts. Using AutoMapper can help you;

Use this .NET Core library to save time and budget and keep your organization and client happy.

Dapper

Like AutoMapper, Dapper is also the most crucial mapping library, but different in function. It helps developers with mapping between programming language and database. With 16.7k stars and 3.7k forks, Dapper is the second most used ORM in the tech arena.

Dapper is part of micro-ORMs, a set of tools playing a part in full-blown Object Relations Mappers, like Entity Framework Core. Dapper is a bit different from all other tools, helping developers with high performance, speed, comfort, and convenience.

Swashbuckle

When it comes to defining and reading the app structure, Swagger documents are an essential part of a software development project. Swashbuckle is an easy to use technology to produce swagger documentation.

The full potential of Swashbuckle comes out with its three primary components as;

These three components join together to provide responses with JSON and XML files. It’s open source and can be easily integrated into the system.

NLog

NLog is a popular logging library for .NET applications, including .NET Core. It provides a flexible and extensible way to log messages from your application, making it easier to diagnose issues, monitor application behavior, and analyze performance. NLog supports various log targets, such as files, databases, email, and more. It allows you to configure logging through XML or JSON configuration files, making it easy to change logging behavior without modifying code. NLog also offers features like log message filtering, logging to multiple targets simultaneously, and custom log message layout support.

CacheManager

CacheManager is a caching library for .NET applications, including .NET Core. Caching helps improve the performance of applications by storing frequently used data in memory, reducing the need to fetch it from slower data sources. CacheManager supports various cache providers, including in-memory caching, distributed caching, and more. It allows you to use a standard API to work with different caching solutions, making it easy to switch between cache providers without changing your application code. CacheManager also provides features like cache item expiration, dependency management, and synchronization.

LiteDB

LiteDB is a lightweight, embedded NoSQL database for .NET Core and .NET applications. It is designed for scenarios where you need a simple and easy-to-use database without a separate server. LiteDB stores data in a single file, making it suitable for desktop applications development, mobile apps, and other scenarios where you want to avoid the complexity of a full-fledged database management system. It supports document-oriented storage, indexing, and querying. LiteDB is ACID-compliant (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) and provides a C# API for data manipulation. It’s particularly well-suited for applications that need a local database with minimal overhead.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we have given everything you find helpful to select the correct library for your project. These libraries are valuable, and developers use them most often. We at Codzgarage provide quality development services on top of .NET Core technology. Hire .NET Core developers who deliver quality work using suitable libraries. You can also connect with us if you want free consultancy.