NET 1.1 to .NET 2.0 Migration FAQ
Q: “How much work will it take to move from 1.1 to 2.0 and how long will it take?”
A: The answer is “It depends”. Some applications move over with the simple click of a button, and others take a little more work than that.
Q: “Do you need to migrate at all?”
A: If it is an application that is still “alive” and moving forward, then the answer is “Yes, you should migrate.” then keep reading If you have a 1.1 application that is working just fine, and you don’t plan on modifying/updating it, leave it as it is and it should work just fine side by side.
Q: What happens when you load/run a .NET 1.1 application on a machine that has both 1.1 and 2.0 installed?
A:
| Application type | Computer with 1.1 | Computer with 2.0 | Computer with 1.1 and 2.0 |
| 1.1 stand-alone application (Web or Microsoft Windows client) | Loads with 1.1 | Loads with 2.0 | Loads with 1.1 |
| 2.0 stand-alone application (Web or Microsoft Windows client) | Fails | Loads with 2.0 | Loads with 2.0 |
| 1.1 add-in to a native application (such as Office or Internet Explorer) | Loads with 1.1 | Loads with 2.0 | Loads with 2.0 unless the process is configured to run against 1.1 |
| 2.0 add-in to a native application (such as Office or Internet Explorer) | Fails | Loads with 2.0 | Loads with 2.0 |
Given that .NET was designed for side-by-side usage since it first came out, that 1.1 application should run fine in a side-by-side environment. It’s the scenarios in bold that you need to really pay attention to with regards to testing. What will catch folks off-guard are the scenarios in the third row in the table. The gotcha is that you might not even be aware of what applications cause the third row scenarios.
The 2.0 framework is mostly backwards compatible with the 1.1 framework. Meaning, most 1.1 applications should run okay on the 2.0 framework. Therefore, the scenarios in bold should work out for you most of the time if you choose not to migrate your 1.1 application forward. But (and there is always a ‘but’), there are some breaking changes in the 2.0 framework.
Here’s where you can find out about breaking changes in the 2.0 Framework. Use this list ahead of time to analyze your 1.1 application and anticipate where issues might crop up:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms994364.aspx
Then, once you have a heads up on what could go wrong, test out the scenarios in the matrix where your 1.1 application could be loaded using the 2.0 framework. Here are some test scenarios to consider:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms994387.aspx
If your 1.1 application fails to run on 2.0 for whatever reason, and you still need to support the scenario in the last column of the third row, you can make some configuration changes to force the application to run using the 1.1 framework. Check these two links for more information:
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/s80xxs7s(VS.71).aspx
- http://blogs.digineer.com/blogs/tabraham/archive/2005/12/09/15.aspx
Q: I want to migrate my application from .NET 1.1 to .NET 2.0. Where do I start?
The quick and dirty answer: Back up your VS 2003/1.1 solution first!!! Then, open your Visual Studio 2002 or 2003 project/solution in Visual Studio 2005 or 2008. A conversion wizard will convert the project/solution to 2005. Compile the code, and you will now have a .NET 2.0 application!
The real answer: If you’re migrating a Windows Forms application, the majority of times, the quick and dirty answer above will be all it takes for you! If you’re migrating an ASP.NET web application, you should do a little homework before you open your .NET 1.1 project/solution in Visual Studio 2005 or 2008.
Let’s talk about non-web applications first. As I mentioned, most of the time, opening the application in Visual Studio 2005 or 2008 and running it through the conversion wizard should be all it takes. This will merely update the project files (.vbproj/.csproj) to work with 2005. It will not update your application code to take advantage of the new .NET 2.0 features. At this point, when you compile your existing 1.1 code, it will be compiled against the 2.0 framework. If the code doesn’t compile, check out the list of breaking changes in the 2.0 framework mentioned above and begin troubleshooting from there.
For migrating web applications, there can be more work involved since the project model for web applications has changed greatly in Visual Studio 2005 and 2008. Fortunately migration information is centraly located on MSDN’s ASP.NET migration center.
Tech Articles:
Common ASP.NET 2.0 Conversion Issues and Solutions
Solve some of the common conversion issues developers may face when upgrading from ASP.NET 1.x to 2.0.
What’s New in Web Development for Visual Studio 2005
Visual Web Developer continues to bring you the productivity benefits of the Visual Web Developer integrated development environment (IDE) while introducing a wide array of improvements.
Migrating from ASP to ASP.NET 2.0
Learn the concepts and tools you will need to develop applications in ASP.NET 2.0 coming from classic ASP. Explore the benefits of Microsoft’s newest Web technology and understand how to transition from ASP to ASP.NET 2.0.
ASP.NET 2.0 QuickStart Tutorial
The ASP.NET QuickStart is a series of ASP.NET samples and supporting commentary designed to quickly acquaint developers with the syntax, architecture, and power of the ASP.NET Web programming framework.
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