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Can I find a lite version of the .Net framework which is sufficient only for serving my application?

If I have an application which only uses few classes of .Net, I feel it is not reasonable thing to install the whole components of the entire .Net framework.

Is there any way to just install what exactly I need from the .Net framework?

marc_s
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Aan
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    What os are you on? Recent versions of windows come with .net already, so the point may be moot. – jlew Oct 22 '11 at 13:30

3 Answers3

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No, but from .NET 3.5 onwards there's the "client profile" which is considerably smaller than the full framework. For example, the standalone installer for the .NET 4 client profile is only 41MB.

Jon Skeet
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    41MB for the 64bit version and 28.8 MB for the 32bit version. – Steven Oct 22 '11 at 13:39
  • @Steven isn't it the same version for both x86 and x64 ?! even the name says so. – Nasreddine Oct 22 '11 at 13:46
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    The full version of .NET 4 is 48 MB. The client profile is pretty pointless and I wouldn't recommend it: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4880685/c-sharp-visual-studio-2010-suddenly-cant-see-namespace/4880805#4880805 – Hans Passant Oct 22 '11 at 14:10
  • Yes, sorry. 41 MB is for the client profile version that includes both 64 and 32 bit. – Steven Oct 22 '11 at 14:53
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Hanselman produced a nice site that explains all the options but fundamentally you'll need the minimum client profile install.

Darren Lewis
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There is nothing such as a "light version" of the .Net framework. Your best option is to use the client profile.

Nasreddine
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