Creating Libraries for Different .NET Platforms - (.NET Standard Multi-Targeted Libraries)

.NET Standard is a set of APIs that are available across different .NET platforms. It provides a way to create libraries that can be used by different .NET applications across different platforms. In this tutorial, we'll discuss how to create multi-targeted libraries using .NET Standard.

Syntax

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFrameworks>netstandard2.0;net45</TargetFrameworks>
  </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

Example

Let's say we want to create a library that targets both .NET Standard 2.0 and .NET Framework 4.5. Here's an example csproj file that does just that:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFrameworks>netstandard2.0;net45</TargetFrameworks>
  </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

This tells the .NET build system that we want to create a library that targets both .NET Standard 2.0 and .NET Framework 4.5.

Explanation

.NET Standard is a set of APIs that are available across different .NET platforms. It provides a way to create libraries that can be used by different .NET applications across different platforms. A multi-targeted library can target multiple .NET platforms at the same time.

In the example above, we're targeting two platforms: .NET Standard 2.0 and .NET Framework 4.5. This means that our library will be compatible with any .NET application that targets either of these platforms.

Use

Multi-targeting with .NET Standard is useful if you want to create a library that can be used by different .NET applications across different platforms. By creating a library that targets multiple platforms, you can provide support for a wider range of applications.

Important Points

Here are some important points to keep in mind when creating multi-targeted libraries using .NET Standard:

• You can target multiple .NET platforms using the TargetFrameworks property in the csproj file.
• Each platform has a different set of APIs that are available. When targeting multiple platforms, you'll need to make sure that the APIs you use are compatible with all of the platforms you're targeting.
• When targeting multiple platforms, you may need to use preprocessor directives (#if) to conditionally compile code based on the platform being used.

Summary

In this tutorial, we discussed how to create multi-targeted libraries using .NET Standard. We covered the syntax, example, explanation, use, and important points of creating multi-targeted libraries. With this knowledge, you can create libraries that can be used by different .NET applications across different platforms.