.NET 4.0 Full / Client profiles; Does anyone care?

Question

I recently read an old MSDN entry in which the mentioned winform and wpf applications should focus on client profiles, not the full profile. So does anyone care? because of this, who has deployment problems?

personally, I never needed to install .NET versions on any computer.

I am also wondering if there are differences between enterprise and consumer applications.

Answer 1

No, the client profile for .NET 4.0 was a mistake. The full version is 15% more. This error was not repeated; .NET 4.5 does not have a client profile.

Technically, you must create an installer that provides the correct version of .NET installed on the user's computer. Many machines have 4.0, but no warranty. You have probably never heard of this complaint because of the excellent feature in .NET 4.0; it automatically installs .NET when your program runs on a machine with a previous version. The user receives a dialogue, it looks like this:

It's a bit gobbledegooky, but you can usually rely on most users by clicking Yes.

Answer 2

The client profile is available as Windows Update for most Windows operating systems. This makes it easier for organizations to bring it to their enterprise using, for example, SUS, and for consumers to easily install it.

To get the full profile, you need to download and run the standalone web installer or the complete NetFX installation package.

See this answer for which the OS already has .NET, and which versions are pre-installed. Any OS that does not come with .NET 4 will need to preinstall it before running the .NET 4 application, and the client profile will simplify this process.

In my $ DAYJOB, we try to target the client profile whenever possible, mainly because the additional applications that come with the full profile are rarely needed for client applications; however, if we need System.Web material, for example, then we will not lose sleep over it and just aim the full profile and move on. This adds some deployment complexity, but that the cost of a compromise you have to pay for additional features.

FYI: we always need to install the .NET 4 Framework on new client PCs; I do not think that we are faced with a corporate client who has already installed it. Presumably, this will change as .NET 4 applications (and / or Windows 8 that were pre-installed) get more widespread use, but by then .NET 5 applications will begin to ship and the loop will repeat. Regardless of which one of you or someone else will always be the first to distribute .NET on a PC, you should be prepared for this.

Answer 3

The differences between them have already been explained here. However, to answer your question:

Does anyone care?

Well yes, you should at least take care. It makes no sense to install the full version of the .NET Framework if you really do not need it, esp if it will affect things like installation size, installation time, etc.

personally, I never needed to install .NET versions on any computer.

I would say that probably just a good coincidence. I would suggest that if you try to install the application on an older OS (if you support it), let's say that Windows XP and your application require the latest version of the .NET Framework, it will not like it.

A good rule of thumb is to add it as prerequisites in your installation :)