Will .NET 4.5 introduce a new version of the CLR?

Question

In the past not every new version of .NET came with a new version of the CLR. I know .NET 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 and 4.0 did, but .NET 3.0 and 3.5 did not.

Will .NET 4.5 introduce a new CLR? And how does one tell if there's a new CLR?

Answer 1

Yes, .NET 4.5 has a brand spanking new version of the CLR, you can read about the improvements at;

http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/sasha/archive/2011/09/17/improvements-in-the-clr-core-in-net-framework-4-5.aspx

To clarify; this is a new version of the CLR that actually replaces the 4.0 one, so whether to call it an update or a new CLR is disputable.

To tell which CLR version you're running under, use

System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeEnvironment.GetSystemVersion()