Rules for C# class backward compatibility/avoiding breaking changes

c# .net backwards-compatibility
ErnieL picture ErnieL · Feb 22, 2011 · Viewed 7k times · Source

I'm working on a C# 3.5 assembly that is consumed by many different applications in an enterprise server environment. I would like to add some properties to an existing C# class (not abstract) and maintain backwards compatibility with current clients without recompiling. It’s a strongly named 3.5 assembly. Existing client applications will not be recompiled. Instead we use publisher policy assemblies to re-direct existing clients to the updated version.

What are the rules for maintaining this type of class backward compatibility?

I'm looking for some set of rules I can validate my code changes against.

After my current attempts at updating the class clients are throwing a "The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference" exception.

Answer

ErnieL picture ErnieL · Oct 13, 2011

The best reference is Justin's answer: A definite guide to API-breaking changes in .NET

@Justin - if you ever post this as an answer, I'll give you the check.

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