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I've been creating class libraries for years and they have always met my needs.

Now when I went to create a class library, Visual Studio is promoting a new component called Class Library (Package). It's front and center, as if it's the default now. The regular Class Library is now buried and much harder to find.

I am biased toward familiar things that are tried and true, but I want to keep up with the times.

Are there any advantages to using Class Library (Package)?

I'm in a corporate environment under a non-disclosure agreement. Whatever I create I don't think it can be open source, if that matters.

toddmo
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    It has a very shoddy name and is beta quality. Would have been better if they would have picked "Class Library (CoreCLR)", perhaps. The implied reference to a Nuget package is only there because Nuget is the way to distribute CoreCLR libraries. And the suggestion that it can target any platform is just a side-effect of the CoreCLR project goals. This will probably change once CoreCLR stabilizes a bit. – Hans Passant Jan 29 '16 at 17:25

1 Answers1

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You can continue to use Class Libraries as you have however I'd recommend always staying current with the stack and platform. One way you could do that could be the ASP.NET Community Standup which is informative and fun. The new Class Library (Package) is part of vNext also known as ASP.NET Core 1.0

In short, taken from the description, it is:

A project template for creating a class library as a NuGet package that can target any platform.

I'd recommend these links for further reading.

Why create an ASP.NET 5 Class Library project?

Benefits of ASP.NET 5 Class Library projects (.kproj) over Class Library projects (.csproj)

Community
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brk
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  • Are **ASP.NET 5 Class Library project?** and **Class Library (Package)** the same thing? If not, what are the differences? – toddmo Jan 29 '16 at 18:33
  • @toddmo In short, yes. When you refer to the ASP.NET 5 (now named ASP.NET Core 1.0) Class Library, you are referring to what is now named Class Library (Package) with the above mentioned differences, i.e. NuGet packages. But think of it this way, you have the Class Library you know and use and then you have the Class Library (Package). The ASP.NET part is not relevant but merely where it originated from. The naming of all these things has been in flux but is slowly stabilizing. – brk Jan 29 '16 at 20:05