c# development and project.json

Question

I have read all about Project.json file in ASP.NET 5(vNext). I have seen tons of people asking if the same changes can be applied to c# projects currently using .csproj/nuget. I have seen this site https://github.com/aspnet/Home/wiki/Project.json-file that lays out the structure of the project.json, but I cannot find any nuget/visual studio roadmap that states that c# projects will adopt the same project definition file. It seems like that is the direction they are heading, but was hoping someone could fill me in on more concrete details. I did see this blurp here: https://code.visualstudio.com/Docs/languages#_c35 "Selecting a project.json-file is opening a DNX-project and VSCode will load that project plus the referenced projects". So the new VSCode seems to support this new standard? I'd appreciate any insight you have.

Answer 1

The "aspnet" name of vnext (ASP.NET 5) is a bit misleading. You can indeed setup new C# class library projects utilizing vnext and the project.json file.

In the new class library project.json, you'll pick which frameworks you wish to target. In beta4 and VS 2015 RC, the default target frameworks are dnxcore50 and dnx451. dnx451 enabled projects will still still have access to the entire .NET framework just as legacy C# projects always have. Targeting dnxcore will give you access to a much smaller footprint and the ability to modularize your project so you're only incorporating the portions of the .NET Framework you really need.