Release the new version of FastCube .NET 2025.1
Meet the new FastCube .NET 2025.1 release — a product relaunch with many key changes. This major update includes important architectural improvements, support for new platforms, and expanded capabilities for OLAP component developers.
Removed dependency on System.Drawing.Common library in FastCube.Core
One of the key changes in the FastCube .NET 2025.1 release was the complete removal of the dependency on the System.Drawing.Common library in the FastCube.Core module. This step was taken to improve the library's compatibility with various platforms and improve performance.
The graphical capabilities that were previously implemented through System.Drawing.Common have been reworked. Now FastCube .NET uses more modern and cross-platform approaches to working with data visualization and other interface elements. In particular, working with charts and visual components has been moved to separate libraries. This provides more flexibility in managing dependencies and using graphics in reports.
In the new version, to specify a font in FastCube .NET styles, you must use the FastFont class instead of Font. The new font implementation does not contain any logic, and is only a container for data.
The OLAP engine has been moved to the FastCube.Core library
One of the most significant changes in the FastCube .NET 2025.1 release was the complete separation of the OLAP engine into a separate library - FastCube.Core.
If you don't need visual components, you can add only the FastCube.Core library to your projects without including other parts of FastCube. This simplifies the setup and reduces the number of libraries to include.
FastCube now has a modular architecture, where each component performs its specific task. The OLAP engine, visual components, charting and other parts of the library are in separate modules.
For existing projects where visual components have been connected, no additional actions will be required.
Added Linux and MacOS support for FastCube.Core.Web
FastCube .NET 2025.1 release adds full Linux and MacOS support for web solutions using FastCube.Core.Web for the first time. This is an important extension of platform compatibility that allows OLAP applications to run on servers running different operating systems.
Cross-platform development is available. Now FastCube.Core.Web can be used not only on Windows, but also on Linux and MacOS. This opens up the possibility of developing web applications with OLAP functionality on any server.
Support for Linux and MacOS allows you to easily integrate FastCube into containers (e.g. Docker), which is important for scalable web applications and cloud solutions. You will be able to create universal web applications that work equally stably on different operating systems.
ARM (64 bit) support for web components
The FastCube .NET 2025.1 release adds support for the ARM64 architecture for web components. This compatibility extension allows you to run web applications using FastCube on devices with ARM64 processors, such as Raspberry Pi, servers, and cloud solutions on the ARM64 architecture.
ARM64 support also makes it possible to use FastCube in low-power scenarios.
Separate libraries for working with diagrams and dependencies from FastReport.DataVisualization
In the FastCube .NET 2025.1 release, the libraries responsible for working with charts and dependencies on FastReport.DataVisualization were moved to separate FastCube.Mono.Chart and FastCube.WinForms.Chart libraries. This simplifies dependency management and increases flexibility in application development.
Previously, the functionality for creating diagrams was built into the main FastCube package, which made it mandatory even for projects where diagrams were not used.
Replacement for the deprecated IHostingEnvironment
The FastCube .NET 2025.1 release replaces the legacy IHostingEnvironment interface with the more modern IHostEnvironment. This allows the platform to adapt to current development requirements and prepare for future .NET 9 updates.
XML documentation for all source codes
In the FastCube .NET 2025.1 release, all source codes are now accompanied by XML documentation, which significantly improves the process of developing and integrating library components. We aim to improve the developer experience and improve code understanding.
Changing the script engine
The FastCube .NET 2025.1 release includes an updated script engine. This change significantly improves scripting and increases system stability.
The script engine for .NET 6 is now based on Roslyn. With the new ReferencedAssemblies property in the FastReport.Olap.Utils.Config static class, you can control the list of assemblies included in the script.
Other breaking changes
In the new release, due to the reworking of the engine architecture, some methods and types have become obsolete, they do not relate to OLAP functionality and have been removed.
Complete changelog
+ added a new demo application showing the ability to save and load a cube on the web;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.WinForms package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.Mono package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.Core.Web package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.Core package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.WinForms.Chart package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.Mono.Chart package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.Mono.Report package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.WinForms.BusinessGraphics package;
+ added xml documentation for FastCube.WinForms.Report package;
+ added XML documentation for the FastCube.Core.Web package;
+ added a new article describing the minimum system requirements;
+ added a new article to the documentation about descriptions of the packages;
+ added compatibility library with FastReport.DataVisualization for displaying FastCube.Winforms slice charts;
+ added compatibility library with FastReport.DataVisualization for displaying FastCube.Mono slice charts;
+ added demo application for Linux docker container;
+ added Linux support for FastCube.Core.Web package;
* updated build scripts;
* changed the way plugins registration, now plugins cannot be loaded twice automatically;
* now FastCube.WinForms and FastCube.Mono are not independent packages, the core of the OLAP component is completely moved to FastCube.Core;
* changed scripts in three cubes for compatibility with .NET 8 and .NET 9;
* the structure of the documentation has been changed, some sections have been moved to the root;
* the Extras folder that stores the compatibility package sources is now only available in the source version of the product;
* updated EULA;
& updated script builder for working with .net 6 and higher, this is a breaking change for all new FastCube .NET packages, if you used Variant, then instead of strict typing in the script you need to use only the name of the Variant class itself, since in some scripts there is a conflict between FastReport .NET and FastCube .NET in the script by default only a minimal set of libraries are included;
& security fixes in the all demo apps;
& security fixes in the chart component code for FastCube.WinForms;
& security fixes in the chart component code for FastCube.Mono;
- fixed the list of dlls to the script;
- fixed an access modifiers of class members in FastCube.Core.Web;
- removed and replaced dependency on deprecated IHostingEnvironment in FastCube.Core.Web;
- fixed documentation title;
- the Config class and its methods of the FastCube.Core.Web library are marked as deprecated, they are no longer used and do not affect the functionality of the component;
- export to BIFF8 has been removed in the FastCube.Core package because this export requires a graphic context, if there are user requests, we will add BIFF8 export in plugins;
- removed dependency of System.Drawing in FastCube.Core package, now the package can be used under Linux and MacOS.
