.Net 2.0 migration

I'm onto a new project with a very clear goal - migrate .net 1.1 code to .net 2.0. Now this would not be so interesting for small projects. But hear this - while we are emigrating to 2.0, another team will be migrating some components from c++ / COM to .Net 1.1 - that should make things really interesting. Plus throw in the facts that the back-end is Oracle, Apache server is used for reports; 3rd party tools used charts; some of the code dates back to the 90's; AND the team is is distributed across bangalore and US - you will see some really nasty situations and how I (hopefully) get out of them.

Watch this space.

Meanwhile here is a compilation of links to getting started on migration.

As a by-thought, my reflexive Microsoft-hating muscle seems to be shrivelling. Ever since .Net MS have become developer friendly. What has really helped is their collection of talented individuals who have now being given the freedom to frank, nay - even critical , of MS technologies. MSDN of course is MSDN and everything must be taken with a truck of salt, pepper and your favorite spices. The real meat is from the MS techies and their fairly unbiased blogs.

MSDN links -

Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and 2.0 Compatibility
handy guide to defining your approach towards migration. The most useful information is the table for application load mechanisms. Also has links to other MSDN resources for migration

ASP.NET 2.0 Migration Overview
very brief outline on the why of migration

Migrating from ASP.NET 1.x to ASP.NET 2.0
Code behind concept has changed and this tells you how. Be afraid. Be very very afraid.
Also we no longer have project files - well known directories will do the job ( I smell unix - i do i do). Complement this with Rick Strahl's Understanding Page Inheritance in ASP.NET 2.0

Breaking Changes in .NET Framework 2.0
Just glance through these - I doubt many people will be affected by these. Keep it for reference and impressing interviewers.

.NET Framework V2.0 Obsolete API List
You don't just want to make your solutions compile - right ? Treating "warnings" as "Errors" in your compilation has just made life painful. But don't be lazy and upgrade propahly by getting rid of obsolete function calls

Side-by-Side Execution of the .NET Framework
Most enterprise applications will have to go through a phase of side-by-side execution. I suspect its not going to be as straightforward and deterministic as this article suggests. But thats just me being cynical on the outset of ANY project.

Common Web Project Conversion Issues and Solutions
the title says it all

Microsoft .NET Pet Shop 4: Migrating an ASP.NET 1.1 Application to 2.0
Microsoft's case study using their idea of an ideal application which of course uses only MS products ;)

One the most trusted sources on .Net, ScottGu, has a bunch of extremely helpful articles. Do take the time to also go through the comments on the articles. Read these in order.

why the VS 2005 Web Project
Insightful and honest. Pulls no punches in explaining the drawbacks of VS2003. you are not required to agree with everything, but will definitely understand the reasoning behind the changes

Using IIS with VS 2005 and the new Web Project system
Equally useful as practical information on IIS and .Net as it is on the differences in VS2005

Some techniques for better managing files in VS 2005 Web Projects
when he says virtual directory - he means virtual directory that is also configured as *application*. I spent a few minutes getting confused (then a comment on the post cleared it up).

Building Re-Usable ASP.NET User Control and Page Libraries with VS 2005



don't just take Microsoft's word for it( who does? ) . Check out other people's experiences. Note that ScottGu is all over the place helping out everyone (who matters). He deserved a huge bonus last year.

Ricks Strahl comes up scratch

Eric Bowen has resource problems in VB 2.0

Andru does things right and removes obsolete calls ( see .NET Framework V2.0 Obsolete API List )

ScottGu bails someone out again - toolbar control issue

DotNetNuke.com has migration pains


Hope this helps and happy migrating.