Should I compile my application to the latest .NET Framework, even if I am not using any new features?

Question

I developed an application using Visual Studio 2010, which by default compiles in the .NET Framework 4. However, as far as I know, my application does not use any special features of .NET 4 and will probably work perfectly compiled to 3 / 3,5 or even 2. The main problem that I see when compiling on v4 is that many users will not have the v4 infrastructure installed, so it will need to go through the download and installation process. Are there any performance / security / etc benefits for working with the same code compiled in v4 rather than with previous versions, which would justify using v4, or should I use old versions until I need new features found in 4?

Amr

Answer 1

Honestly, I think I would go differently, use .Net 4.0 anyway. This gives you the opportunity to use new features if they become relevant to what you are doing. More and more users will now receive .Net4, as more and more applications use it, so you can also be there.

Answer 2

If you are not using any specific features of .NET 4.0, you are probably better off compiling with an older version of the framework. If the user has only .NET 4.0 installed, your program will still work, whereas if you compile it with .NET 4.0 and the user does not install it, it will not start.

Answer 3

I would say it all depends on your deployment environment. If your users have .NET 4, go ahead. If your environment is a couple of versions or two back, you are probably best off jerking.

If you are not deploying to the masses, you must know what environment you will have.

Answer 4

You speak:

released one beta version so far

If you don’t upgrade to .NET v4 now, will it be more difficult for users to upgrade to .NET 4 later? I believe that it is best to start working with the latest system with a new product, as there are always some users with whom you will have to move on, so buy yourself as much time as you can at the beginning.