.NET 3.5 SP1 as a requirement (or should I try for 3.5 w/o SP1)

netwpf

We're creating a WPF custom control targeted at .NET 3.5. It is very compelling to use StringFormat property in bindings, but this was only added in SP1.

So the question is: how many potential users will we be cutting off by changing the requirement from .NET 3.5 to .NET 3.5 SP1? Or is it safe to assume that more or less every user who has .NET 3.5 already has SP1 (or will have it in the not so distant future)?

Your opinions are highly appreciated. Thanks.

Best Answer

For large corporations, SP1 might still be slow to deploy to desktops - simply that it is a fair amount of testing etc, and unless you've got a good reason to do it, you'd be tempted not to.

And for individuals - it can be a big download unless you've got a fat pipe (which not everyone does).

For example, at my work we've deployed to the web-servers (since they need it), but not to user desktops. If I had a need to push SP1 I would, but I don't see much point until then.

You might also want to see if your code would run on Client Profile? This is then only a <30MB install away... although I've never actually seen anyone use Client Profile in anger (if you're going to have to do a deployment, heck: push the big one...).

So it really depends: who are the users of this app? Can you strong-arm them to upgrade? Or at least "encourage" them ;-p

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