Important Changes to NuGet Packages and the Unified Component / .NET Core Desktop Product Installers (v21.1)

News
16 April 2021

Applies To

  • DevExpress WinForms, WPF and XAF developers who expect to build .NET Core desktop apps in our v21.1+ release cycle.
  • DevExpress WPF developers who expect to build .NET Framework desktop apps and use WPF controls via NuGet (not via assembly references) in our v21.1+ release cycle.

No Action Is Required If

  • You build .NET Framework WinForms and web apps (ASP.NET MVC or Web Forms or HTML/JavaScript)
  • You build .NET Core web apps (ASP.NET Core MVC or Blazor).
  • You build .NET Framework WPF apps and use DevExpress WPF controls via assembly references (not via NuGet).
  • You build .NET Core WinForms and WPF apps using DevExpress technologies, but do not expect to upgrade to v21.1+.

What Changed & Migration Instructions

  • With our v21.1+ release, desktop NuGet packages will include both .NET Core Desktop and .NET Framework assemblies. DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.* NuGet packages will not be available for v21.1+ as in earlier versions.
  • Our Unified Component Installer (v21.1+) will include libraries, demos, source code and tools for .NET Core Desktop development (installation size has grown by 20 MB). We recommend this installation option as it includes everything you need for .NET Framework, .NET Core, ASP.NET Core and JavaScript development.
  • If you’ve already used the Unified Component Installer above, you cannot use our .NET Core Desktop Product Installer v21.1+ (since no reason exists to do so). We anticipate that this installer will only be used by those targeting .NET Core WinForms or WPF apps.

For complete change log, reasons for change and migration instructions, please refer to this  Breaking Change document. To update the DevExpress.WindowsDesktop.* NuGet packages in your apps automatically (= save time), please use the DevExpress Project Converter tool.

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Aluron
Aluron
.NET CORE DESKTOP will be out from CTP status with 21.1 version?
16 April 2021
CRM-49fe0ba2-393e-4c3f-8d23-f836c539e2a2
Anand
No nugets install
16 April 2021
Dennis (DevExpress)
Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress)
@Anand: What do you mean specifically? See also: https://www.devexpress.com/Products/Try/ (NuGet Feed with .NET Core / .NET 5 Products) and https://nuget.devexpress.com/.
16 April 2021
Dmitry (DevExpress)
Dmitry Korovin (DevExpress)

@Aluron we made a Knowledge Base article about the current stage of the .NET Core support: Design-Time Support for DevExpress WinForms Controls for .NET. You can post new comments under this article if it does not fully answer your questions.

16 April 2021
Niels Damgaard
Niels Damgaard

I think moving to Nuget as the standard installation method is a good move and simplifies things in the future.

DevExpress Rocks!

16 April 2021
Simon Hewitt
Simon Hewitt

Writing WinForms apps, I have not needed to use .NET Core or .NET Standard or Nuget packages etc.

However, I do plan to update to .NET 5 (or .NET 6) towards the end of the year . This, as I understand it, is a merging and advancement of .NET Core and .NET Standard and what everyone should start using going forward.
Can you please explain how this blog relates to .NET 5.

>With our v21.1+ release, desktop NuGet packages will include both .NET Core Desktop and .NET Framework assemblies.

Does this mean more DLLs in one package but half will be redundant or have I misunderstand?
It seems strange and undesirable to me to have a large bunch of DLLs around that won't be used.

19 April 2021
PAVEL UZORIN
PAVEL UZORIN
This would be great news if it applied not only to "DevExpress WinForms and WPF developers" but also to XAF WinForms developers similarly.

19 April 2021
Dennis (DevExpress)
Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress)
@Simon Hewitt: The DevExpress .NET Core Desktop assemblies have been intentionally built under .NET Core 3 for the best user coverage and also can be used in .NET 5 apps. Yes, a single NuGet package includes assemblies built for .NET Framework and .NET Core simultaneously. It is a standard practice for NuGet packages to include assemblies for multiple target platforms (for instance, a popular https://www.nuget.org/packages/Newtonsoft.Json/ package includes assemblies for 7 target platforms). Developers should not worry about this, because only required assemblies will be used in their end apps.
@PAVEL UZORIN: DevExpress WinForms developers includes XAF WinForms developers.
19 April 2021
Peter Drier 2
Peter Drier

Does anyone know if this change helps Visual Studio in cases where a project has multiple target versions? I.e. 4.7.2 & 3.1.. 

I would suspect by using the same nuget package across different targets could help. But then again the single DX nuget package will likely have separate framework and core folders anyways, so maybe the net result is the same for VS.

Can't wait for VS.64, but in the meantime my fingers are crossed hoping for anything that helps.


30 April 2021
Dennis (DevExpress)
Dennis Garavsky (DevExpress)
@Peter Drier:
We had projects working properly with multi-targeting (.NET Framework and .NET Core) even before this change. What was your concern or issue with Visual Studio in this scenario?
20 May 2021

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