How can I target multiple versions of .Net in a single application transparently to users?

Question

I want to take advantage of the new features of WPF without breaking users that don't have .Net 3.5. I suppose if it doesn't already exist in .Net I would just need to build a loader exe that loads and executes either the .Net 2.0 or .Net 3.5 version depending on the current environment. Any better ideas?

Answer 1

I'm not sure if you really want to do this - doing so would imply that you'd be writing (essentially) the same application twice. This will set you up for huge maintainability problems, like a bug in your WinForms app that doesn't manifest in WPF (or vice versa). Also, you'd need to implement any new features you add in both WinForms and WPF (not to mention porting all of your existing features to WPF). I would strongly recommend either sticking with WinForms, or take the plunge, switch to WPF, and require your users to install .NET 3.5.

Note: I've found that, once I made the jump to WPF, WinForms development was an absolute CHORE.