Why do source generators still require netstandard2.0?

[colejohnson66]

Roslyn source generators are stuck at netstandard2.0. Is there a reason why? We are missing modern APIs that require adding NuGet package references and writing logic to bundle them into the nupkg. Record types also can't be used unless one adds a polyfill for System.Runtime.CompilerServices.IsExternalInit. Each year, the set of usable APIs grows further and further apart from what we should have.

Are there any plans to address these limitations? If not, why?

[chrisoverzero]

Is there a reason why?

They need to be called from .NET (Core) and .NET Framework contexts. Visual Studio is still, in some way, built atop .NET Framework, so source generators must remain compatible.

[huoyaoyuan]

This isn't limited to source generator. Roslyn itself still need to target netstandard2.0 to support VS.
Some team member said "nothing to share" about moving VS to .NET Core earlier, but we can infer something is happening confidentially. Wait for the announcement of next major version of VS first.

[huoyaoyuan]

netstandard2.1 is only supported by a very limited set of platforms. If VS and compilers moves to .NET Core, it should probably use net6.0 or net8.0 as a baseline.

[CyrusNajmabadi]

What documentatio nhave you seen that said that @zacharylayne ?

[zacharylayne]

@CyrusNajmabadi Apologies for the late reply. I'll try & dig up some of the documentation I saw.

[WeihanLi]

Any news for the next major version of VS? Looking forward to the new version

[333fred]

If there is news to share about a new major version of VS, you're not going to hear about it first on this repo 🙂.