In this post I describe some of the complexities around authoring .NET tools, specifically around supporting multiple .NET runtimes and testing in CI

Andrew Lock's blog focuses on ASP.NET Core development, web APIs, and software architecture. Readers can find tutorials, code samples, and explanations covering topics such as RESTful API design, authentication, and authorization in ASP.NET Core. Additionally, they can learn about dependency injection, middleware, and performance optimization techniques.

.NET Escapades

.NET tools are programs distributed via NuGet that can be installed globally or locally using the .NET SDK. When authoring tools, developers face challenges around supporting multiple .NET runtime versions through multi-targeting or using RollForward configuration. Local tools use a dotnet-tools.json manifest for version control and team collaboration. Key considerations include compatibility across runtime versions, package size optimization, and testing strategies in CI environments using flags like --source, --tool-path, --prerelease, and --allow-downgrade.

Using and authoring .NET tools

Ensuring compatibility by multi-targeting

<p>Great article. We need more .NET content on here.</p>


<p>Senior developers use dotnet-install script. It always upgrade minor version since 2016 without rollforward.</p>
