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What's the point of upgrading your projects to the latest .Net Framework version if I don't need new features?

JoeSchmoe115 21 Reputation points
2021-07-15T17:46:33+00:00

Let me elaborate:

Say I have a legacy Visual Studio solution that consists of multiple .Net C# projects (one executable and multiple dll-s) each targeting .Net 4.5. I have no need for any of the features introduced in newer versions of .Net Framework.

Please note: both development computer and server the application is hosted on have already been upgraded to .Net Framework 4.8. So from the security point of view since this is in-place upgrade I am actually using the latest version already even if I don't re-target my projects (correct me if I am wrong)

Is there a reason to re-target your projects to the latest .Net Framework version (4.8) if you don't need new features?

Developer technologies | C#

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  1. Lex Li 6,037 Reputation points
    2021-07-15T22:53:02.783+00:00

    Several typical scenarios (but more),

    • Certain components you use are going to retire by Microsoft. For example, VS2022 might not include .NET Framework 4.5 target profiles so you probably can no longer compile such projects there.
    • New versions of your dependent NuGet packages might lose .NET 4.5 support.

    So leaving behind while the whole ecosystem moves on is more risky than merely security issues.

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