c# get framework / runtime version from application with Assembly

Question

I'm trying to check what framework version a other .NET application is working with through a assembly. I found two ways to get the version of the framework ( first through the ImageRunetimeVersion and with the FullName of the assembly ) but i'm getting two different values from it and i dont know which is the right one:

        Assembly ass = Assembly.LoadFrom(autPath);            
        string imageRuntimeVersion = ass.ImageRuntimeVersion;
        Console.WriteLine("ImageRunetimeVersion: " + imageRuntimeVersion);
        Console.WriteLine("FullName: " + ass.FullName);

        Console.WriteLine("");            
        Console.WriteLine("----");
        Console.WriteLine("Referenced Assemblies: ");
        Console.WriteLine(""); 

        AssemblyName[] referencedAssemblies = ass.GetReferencedAssemblies();
        foreach (AssemblyName a in referencedAssemblies)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(a.FullName);
        }

if i'm going to test this with my application and of e.g paint.net the results are:

Like you can see i cant say which "version" is the right one. The biggest problem is that if i'm going to take a look to my project properties for my .net application the target platform is 3.5 and not 2.0 or 1.0-

The Version from "ImageRunetimeVersion" is different from the Version called through the fullname. last pic: first version: v.2.0.50727 second version: 1.0.0.0. now i dont know which of these two is the correct framework version used by the application — dontcare, Apr 11 '12 at 12:12

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:14

I think I can clear some things up for you. First, the FullName property gives you the application version number. That is the number you set and has no relation to the .NET framework version. That means the version number in the FullName property can be ignored.

The imageRuntimeVersion is the CLR version. Unfortunately, 2.0 covers .NET 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5. Technically, your application is giving you the right information but it isn't really the information you want (I don't think).

Here is a SO article with more explanation: Retrieve Target Framework Version and Target Framework Profile from a .Net Assembly

A couple of suggestions for you from that article include looking for a config file that would give you the targetted framework or looking at the versions of the libraries that are used. Neither is really foolproof but as far as I know, that is the best you can do.

i had the suspicion that i got the wrong idea from the showed version numbers, thanks for the clearance. — dontcare, Apr 11 '12 at 12:26

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 28 '14 at 13:08

TargetFramework not same CLR version.

For example,

CLR 4.0 TargetFramework: .NET 4.0 and .NET 4.5

A solution using TargetFrameworkAttribute http://www.lucbos.net/2011/08/get-targetframework-for-assembly.html

Note: TargetFrameworkAttribute is only available from .NET 4.0.

    var targetFramework = "Unknown";
    var targetFrameworkAttributes = assembly.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(System.Runtime.Versioning.TargetFrameworkAttribute), true);
    if (targetFrameworkAttributes.Length > 0)
    {
        var targetFrameworkAttribute = (TargetFrameworkAttribute)targetFrameworkAttributes.First();
        targetFramework = (targetFrameworkAttribute.FrameworkDisplayName);
    }

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 20 '21 at 16:09

1

Console.WriteLine("Version: {0}", Environment.Version.ToString());

answered Jun 20 '21 at 16:09

Renan Duarte

138
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10

c# get framework / runtime version from application with Assembly

3 Answers3