Which .NET version for what?

Davebert · December 13th, 2011, 10:27 AM

Being a late comer to .NET I was wondering if there is a simple set of rules to follow when choosing which .NET framework to use on a project in VS 2010 VB. There are:

.NET 1.1
.NET 2.0
.NET 3.0
.NET 3.5
.NET 4.0
.NET 4.5 (for new 2012 version)

Why would one use an older version? For an older OS? Is it best to just use 4.0 and stick to that? Or are the older releases plenty powerful with less overhead and still used a lot? Just trying to understand and get off to a good start.
Thanks,
DB

Rod Stephens · December 13th, 2011, 10:43 AM

I would just use the latest version. I suppose you could use an older version if you had previously built a program using it and didn't want to make your users install a newer version, but mostly they're backwards compatible so most programs should work with newer versions of the Framework.

Davebert · December 13th, 2011, 10:47 AM

Is there a setting for 64 vs 32 bit OS's or does .NET 4.0 cover both?
Thanks,
DB

Rod Stephens · December 13th, 2011, 01:18 PM

To find this:

Open the Project menu and select Properties (at the bottom).
Click the Build tab.
Set the Platform Target to Any CPU, x86, or x64.

I haven't tried running applications built on one platform on a different platform but I think the "Any CPU" setting should work on both.

Visual Basic programs are compiled into IL (Intermediate Language) not into native machine instructions so they can be executed on any machine that has the .NET Framework installed. So at that level it shouldn't matter.

When the program runs, the JIT (Just In Time) compiler converts the IL into native code as it runs so then it needs to be 32-bit or 64-bit, but that's the job of the Framework version installed on the target computer so it doesn't really matter to you.

To summarize, I would just select "Any CPU" and not worry about it.

Davebert · December 13th, 2011, 01:39 PM

Ok thanks. Just getting familiar with this IDE. Its actually not too bad after all.
Thanks,
DB

Rod Stephens · December 13th, 2011, 01:50 PM

It's actually pretty good once you get used to it. At least if you have a fairly fast computer with lots of memory.

Davebert · December 13th, 2011, 04:12 PM

Good for me.

I had to build a new rig to play Battlefield 3 so I am good. I didn't get too carried away but I have my first SSD, 16GB of DDR3, and a P8Z68 with an i7-2600k. I skimped a little on the video card and just got a GTX 570 Classified. Works for me.

DB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rod Stephens

It's actually pretty good once you get used to it. At least if you have a fairly fast computer with lots of memory.