How do the .NET Framework, CLR and Visual Studio version numbers relate to each other?

Asked 17/10, 2008 at 16:37 Answered 12/4, 2010 at 22:17

With the recent announcement of .NET 4.0 and Visual Studio 2010, it is becoming ever more difficult to keep track of what .NET Framework versions build on what version of the CLR and belong with which version(s) of Visual Studio.

Is there a definitive table that shows these relationships?

Bandaranaike answered 17/10, 2008 at 16:37 Comment(0)

Visual Studio                                 CLR           .NET Framework
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visual Studio .NET (Ranier)                   1.0.3705      1.0
Visual Studio 2003 (Everett)                  1.1.4322      1.1
Visual Studio 2005 (Whidbey)                  2.0.50727     2.0
Visual Studio 2005 with .NET 3.0 Extensions   2.0.50727     2.0, 3.0
Visual Studio 2008 (Orcas)                    2.0.50727     2.0 SP1, 3.0 SP1, 3.5
Visual Studio 2008 SP1                        2.0.50727     2.0 SP2, 3.0 SP2, 3.5 SP1
Visual Studio 2010 (Hawaii)                   4.0.30319     4.0

Expanding on this a bit, and including some of the information from dok1's answer, the actual version numbers for the different shipped builds of the .NET Framework are available on Aaron Stebner's blog, which covers everything from 1.0 through 3.5 SP1.

The actual Visual Studio version numbers are:

Product Name                                 Version              Ship Date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visual Studio .NET                            7.0.??               02/2002
Visual Studio .NET 2002 Service Pack 1        7.0.??
Visual Studio 2003                            7.1.??               04/2003
Visual Studio 2003 Service Pack 1             7.1.6030             09/13/2006
Visual Studio 2005                            8.0.5072.42
Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1                                  12/14/2006
Visual Studio 2008                            9.0.21022.8          11/19/2007 
Visual Studio 2008 SP1                        9.0.30729.1
Visual Studio 2010                            10.0.30319.1         04/12/2010
Visual Studio 2010 SP1                        10.0.40219.1         03/03/2011

Thanks to @DannySmurf for the information on the full version numbers for the CLR.

Bandaranaike answered 17/10, 2008 at 16:50 Comment(3)

Framework 4.0 will run on CLR 4.0 (no CLR 3.x), side-by-side with CLRs 1.1 and 2.0 – Mancy 19/5, 2009 at 18:21

The code name for Visual Studio 2010 was Dev10. The code name for Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate was Rosario. – Darladarlan 9/8, 2011 at 16:50

FYI, VS 2008 Version 9.0.30729.4462 QFE appears to be what you get with SQL 2008 R2 SP2. – Vernellvernen 27/12, 2012 at 19:30

Note that while 3.0 bascially only added new assemblies (same CLR), 3.5 added new assemblies, new compiler, and updated the CLR to SP1 level.

Framework 4.0 will be a whole new CLR (4.0, no CLR 3.x) which will run side-by-side with CLRs 1.1 and 2.0. It will also have all-new assemblies versioned 4.0 instead of using the 2.0 assemblies.

Framework  CLR and Assemblies            Release
----------------------------------------------------------
1.0 RTM    1.0.3705.0                    Visual Studio .NET (aka VS.NET 2002)
1.0 SP1    1.0.3705.209
1.0 SP2    1.0.3705.288
1.0 SP3    1.0.3705.6018

1.1 RTM    1.1.4322.573                  VS.NET 2003
1.1 SP1    1.1.4322.2032
1.1 SP1    1.1.4322.2300                 Windows Server 2003

2.0 RTM    2.0.50727.42                  Visual Studio 2005 RTM
2.0 RTM    2.0.50727.312                 Windows Vista
2.0 SP1    2.0.50727.1433                Visual Studio 2008 RTM and .NET 3.5 RTM
2.0 SP2    2.0.50727.3053                Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET 3.5 SP1
2.0 SP2    2.0.50727.4016                Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2
2.0 SP2    2.0.50727.4927                Windows 7

Framework  CLR           New assemblies
----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 RTM    2.0 RTM       3.0.4506.30     The only "out-of-band" non-SP framework release
3.0 SP1    2.0 SP1       3.0.4506.648    Visual Studio 2008 RTM and .NET 3.5 RTM
3.0 SP2    2.0 SP2       3.0.4506.2123   Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET 3.5 SP1

3.5 RTM    2.0 SP1       3.5.21022.8     Visual Studio 2008 RTM and .NET 3.5 RTM
3.5 SP1    2.0 SP2       3.5.30729.01    Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET 3.5 SP1
3.5 SP1    2.0 SP2       3.5.30729.4926  Windows 7

Framework  CLR and Assemblies            Release
----------------------------------------------------------
4.0 RTM    4.0.30319.1                   Visual Studio 2010

(This was collected from various answers and linked documents, especially the MSDN article How to determine which versions and service pack levels of the Microsoft .NET Framework are installed linked by DOK.) A full list with KB update versions and support retirement dates can be found on Wikipedia, List of .NET Framework versions.

Mancy answered 19/5, 2009 at 18:30 Comment(3)

i.e., can you verify that this maps to 3.5 SP1 and then keep the list complete and accurate in perpetuity please? – Milla 24/10, 2010 at 22:25

@Ruben: 2.0.50727.3615 seems to be a security update ( support.microsoft.com/kb/983583 ). I'm guessing any version higher than the "released" versions is a non-SP update. – Mancy 25/10, 2010 at 15:26

I've added a few OS-specific versions (Vista, Win7) and the full 4.0 version number – Mancy 25/10, 2010 at 15:35

It's hard to find, isn't it? I believe these are the versions (ignoring service packs)

Visual Studio version 6 = last one before .NET, released in 1998
Visual Studio 2002 = version 7.1, Rainier, first .NET version retroactively added 2002 to the name, .NET 1.0 -- released Feb 2002
Visual Studio 2003 = version 7, Everett, .NET 1.1 -- released early 2003.
Visual Studio 2005 = version 8 Whidbey, .NET 2.0 & 3.0 -- launch was Nov 2005. No longer called Visual Studio .NET
Visual Studio 2008 = version 9 Orcas, .NET 3.5 -- released 11/19/2007 as 9.0.21022.8
Visual Studio 2010 = version 10 Hawaii

The next version of Visual Studio Team System is Rosario.

How to determine which versions and service pack levels of the Microsoft .NET Framework are installed will give you more information about build numbers and service packs, but only through .NET 2.0.

Pretence answered 17/10, 2008 at 16:43 Comment(3)

Not 100% what I was looking for as you don't indicate the CLR versions, only the .NET Framework versions but still a great list, especially since you include the release dates and actual Visual Studio version numbers. – Bandaranaike 17/10, 2008 at 16:51

CLR versions are in the linked document. They vary by service pack. Still, it's unnecessarily difficult to find all this information from a quick web search, isn't it? – Pretence 17/10, 2008 at 17:17

Yes, it's very difficult to find all of this information in one place...hence the reason for the post. – Bandaranaike 17/10, 2008 at 17:27

Framework 4.0 RTM

Visual Studio 2010

Assembly Version 4.0.30319

Date 4/12/2010

Toogood answered 12/4, 2010 at 22:17 Comment(0)

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