.Net native code compilation, aka static linking for the .net age. This feature is a LOOOOONG time coming, they should have had it available a decade ago.
P.S. Mark my words, this is going to be a huge deal. Especially since MS is acquiring Xamarin, which basically does the same thing, but for mobile platforms. With the ability to develop in .net languages and still deliver a plain-jane .exe that doesn't require jitting it'll open up a lot of new opportunities. Especially if they start targeting non-windows platforms like linux, iOS, and android with fully-baked tools. Imagine how much more popular C# would be if it wasn't tied to the Windows platform? And if you could choose whether or not you wanted to ship a small managed exe or a fat native exe that launched quickly?
Technically, yes, but for most situations, no. The requirement that ngen'ed assemblies must be in the GAC makes it very far from the "compile what you want to native" tool I'd like to see.
The inherent slowness of .net is the ONLY reason that I'm sticking with Delphi... It'll be a dream if we'll be able to compile .net/c# programs into native and runs FAST!
P.S. Mark my words, this is going to be a huge deal. Especially since MS is acquiring Xamarin, which basically does the same thing, but for mobile platforms. With the ability to develop in .net languages and still deliver a plain-jane .exe that doesn't require jitting it'll open up a lot of new opportunities. Especially if they start targeting non-windows platforms like linux, iOS, and android with fully-baked tools. Imagine how much more popular C# would be if it wasn't tied to the Windows platform? And if you could choose whether or not you wanted to ship a small managed exe or a fat native exe that launched quickly?