Who's using .NET "Core"? (As well as a bit of an introduction...)

[DualBrain]

I'm interested in engaging with others that are developing on .NET (formally known as "Core" and now simply as .NET 5+)... so who else here is actively doing any development on this platform? What kind of development? Are you interested in the cross-platform opportunities/capabilities or are there other reasons?

I'll start...

A lot of what I do is typically Windows Forms type projects that are .NET 7 / .NET 8 and heavily leverage the UI components from DevExpress as well as other various libraries / nuget packages.

With the "professional" work out of the way, let's move on to my pet/personal projects...

In order to better facilitate cross-platform development where I'm not *restricted* by what is in the VB runtime; I maintain the Community.VisualBasic alternative runtime (a "fork" of the Microsoft.VisualBasic runtime, available on GitHub). I've been working on a not complicated "can I just simply draw some pixels to the screen" approach to cross-platform development and this is taking shape as the vbPixelGameEngine (which is heavily inspired by the olc : : PixelGameEngine written in C/C++). I also have a few other open-source projects that I maintain/contribute to on GitHub; you can check these out at DualBrain - Overview

I'm certainly interested in collaborating, contributing and accepting contributions on VB-related open-source projects.

 

[JohnH]

My personal tools are upgraded to .Net 7, haven't got around to update to .Net 8, I'm guessing that is quickly done.
I also have a .Net Framework windows service and a .Net Standard library in otherwise .Net 7 solution, since the .Net Worker service is not available to VB. I may rewrite the service in C# perhaps.

Programming is not my profession, but I have written some tools for office work that is still .Net Framework, there's no hurry to upgrade them and I have no time to do it. Also have a couple of VSTOs that must be .Net Framework.

 

[jmcilhinney]

We still maintain a number of .NET Framework applications but we do mostly ASP.NET MVC apps and all new work is .NET Core. We're in the process of releasing a .NET 6 app. We were a fair way into development when .NET 7 became viable but, given that we'd have to upgrade to .NET 8 anyway, we chose to skip 7. .NET 8 was released too close to the scheduled release date so we've stuck with 6 for now and will upgrade to 8 in about 6 months or so.

 

[DualBrain]

My personal tools are upgraded to .Net 7, haven't got around to update to .Net 8, I'm guessing that is quickly done.
I also have a .Net Framework windows service and a .Net Standard library in otherwise .Net 7 solution, since the .Net Worker service is not available to VB. I may rewrite the service in C# perhaps.

Eeekkk... convert to C#?

Seeing this (combined with another recent conversation I had with some other VB contributors), I've spun up a new resource for us VB'ers.

GitHub - CommunityVB/Templates: The *missing* (and new) project, item, multi-project, web and multi-item `dotnet new` templates for Visual Basic.

The *missing* (and new) project, item, multi-project, web and multi-item `dotnet new` templates for Visual Basic. - CommunityVB/Templates

github.com

The eventual goal is to have these published as more easily installable `dotnet new` entries; but for now you can copy the code for `Worker Service` directly under:

Templates/src/vbworker/content/vbworker at main · CommunityVB/Templates

The *missing* (and new) project, item, multi-project, web and multi-item `dotnet new` templates for Visual Basic. - CommunityVB/Templates

github.com

(You don't need the `.template.config` folder unless you plan on installing the template manually.)

To actually install the template manually, you can get a clone the repo locally, change to the `/src/vbworker` folder and type `dotnet new install .\`. This will provide you with the `vbworker` project type. ;-)

(Full disclosure... I've done minimal testing on this and haven't really had a need to work with `Worker Service` thus far; with that said, I'm happy to work through the template issues if you happen to find any issue.)

Hope this helps.

 

[adamgreenhello34]

I'm interested in engaging with others that are developing on .NET (formally known as "Core" and now simply as .NET 5+)... so who else here is actively doing any development on this platform? What kind of development? Are you interested in the cross-platform opportunities/capabilities or are there other reasons?

I'll start...

A lot of what I do is typically Windows Forms type projects that are .NET 7 / .NET 8 and heavily leverage the UI components from DevExpress as well as other various libraries / nuget packages.

With the "professional" work out of the way, let's move on to my pet/personal projects...

In order to better facilitate cross-platform development where I'm not *restricted* by what is in the VB runtime; I maintain the Community.VisualBasic alternative runtime (a "fork" of the Microsoft.VisualBasic runtime, available on GitHub). I've been working on a not complicated "can I just simply draw some pixels to the screen" approach to cross-platform development and this is taking shape as the vbPixelGameEngine (which is heavily inspired by the olc : : PixelGameEngine written in C/C++). I also have a few other open-source projects that I maintain/contribute to on GitHub; you can check these out at DualBrain - Overview

I'm certainly interested in collaborating, contributing and accepting contributions on VB-related open-source projects.

It's great to see someone so engaged in both professional and personal .NET development! I'm also exploring .NET 7/8 for Windows Forms projects, particularly for apps that leverage various libraries and NuGet packages, similar to your use of DevExpress. Your work with the Community.VisualBasic alternative runtime and vbPixelGameEngine is fascinating—cross-platform development really opens up new opportunities, especially when stepping beyond the limitations of older runtimes. I'm curious to hear more about your approach to handling cross-platform challenges in these projects.

 

[adamgreenhello34]

Eeekkk... convert to C#?

Seeing this (combined with another recent conversation I had with some other VB contributors), I've spun up a new resource for us VB'ers.

GitHub - CommunityVB/Templates: The *missing* (and new) project, item, multi-project, web and multi-item `dotnet new` templates for Visual Basic.

The *missing* (and new) project, item, multi-project, web and multi-item `dotnet new` templates for Visual Basic. - CommunityVB/Templates

github.com

The eventual goal is to have these published as more easily installable `dotnet new` entries; but for now you can copy the code for `Worker Service` directly under:

Templates/src/vbworker/content/vbworker at main · CommunityVB/Templates

The *missing* (and new) project, item, multi-project, web and multi-item `dotnet new` templates for Visual Basic. - CommunityVB/Templates

github.com

(You don't need the `.template.config` folder unless you plan on installing the template manually.)

To actually install the template manually, you can get a clone the repo locally, change to the `/src/vbworker` folder and type `dotnet new install .\`. This will provide you with the `vbworker` project type. ;-)

(Full disclosure... I've done minimal testing on this and haven't really had a need to work with `Worker Service` thus far; with that said, I'm happy to work through the template issues if you happen to find any issue.)

Hope this helps.

Having dotnet new templates tailored for VB is a huge deal—it fills a gap that's left many VB developers feeling like second-class citizens in the .NET ecosystem. Kudos to you (and any collaborators) for spearheading this effort.

I’ll definitely be digging into this, especially for the Worker Service template. While I’m gradually moving into C# for some cross-platform development, VB still holds a special place in my heart (and in several of my projects). Having these templates available makes it easier to embrace .NET's modern offerings without needing to abandon VB entirely.

The eventual goal of publishing these as official dotnet new templates sounds perfect. If you need help with testing or even documenting the installation process, I'd be happy to pitch in! By the way, are you planning to expand this to include templates for Blazor or other modern .NET app types?

 

[adamgreenhello34]

Having worked on a VB6-to-.NET migration, I resonate with the vb6 to net migration challenges mentioned, especially modernizing UI while preserving legacy functionality. Balancing compatibility and performance was tricky, but .NET’s improved frameworks made it worthwhile. The insights on phased migration in this article align perfectly with my experience—it’s crucial for minimizing disruptions.

The eventual goal of publishing these as official dotnet new templates sounds perfect. If you need help with testing or even documenting the installation process, I'd be happy to pitch in! By the way, are you planning to expand this to include templates for Blazor or other modern .NET app types?