[Breaking change]: Default Dotnet Tool to Run on Latest Runtime - Build time change RollForward to Major #35267
Description
Description
We changed the default RollForward behavior from LatestPatch to Major for dotnet tools.
Version
.NET 8 Preview 5
Previous behavior
Previously, .NET applications use a runtimeConfig to determine their runtime. The default RollForward policy is LatestPatch, which allows an application to run on any runtime of the same major/minor version that is at least as high a version as the application was built against. However, dotnet tools should be able to run on any .NET runtime equal or greater than the application's original runtime, Previously, tool authors must either explicitly set a more flexible roll-forward policy or set multitargeting. The latter has various side effects.
New behavior
We could address the mismatch in build time. The new change changes the RollForward of all tools from LatestPatch to Major. This would cause the desired behavior for all newly-built apps.
Type of breaking change
- Binary incompatible: Existing binaries may encounter a breaking change in behavior, such as failure to load or execute, and if so, require recompilation.
- Source incompatible: When recompiled using the new SDK or component or to target the new runtime, existing source code may require source changes to compile successfully.
- Behavioral change: Existing binaries may behave differently at run time.
Reason for change
Dotnet tools should be able to run on any .NET runtime equal or greater than the application's original runtime. The previous RollForward policy is LatestPatch, which allows an application to run on any runtime of the same major/minor version that is at least as high a version as the application. We changed the default RollForward policy to Major to address this mismatch.
Recommended action
N/A
Feature area
SDK
Affected APIs
No response