Converting .Net 1.1 Applications to 2.0

This post outlines my approach and findings from converting several hundred .Net 1.1 projects (300+) from .Net 1.1 to .Net 2.0.

Approach
Retrieve all .Net 1.1 source code from source code control repository

At the root directory, use “DIR /C /B *.csproj >> projects.txt” at a command line to dump the full path of each C#.Net project into a file

Use the /upgrade option with devenv to convert the .Net projects to 2.0 (devenv "MyProject.sln" /upgrade)

1. Open a new worksheet in Excel
2. Type devenv in the A1 cell; copy it down into the next several hundred rows
3. Open the projects.txt file, select all, and copy
4. Placing the cursor in cell B1 in Excel, paste
5. Type /upgrade in the C1 cell; copy it down into the next several hundred rows
6. In the D1 cell, paste in the following formula =A1& " " & B1& " " & C1; copy it down into the next several hundred rows
7. Select the D column and copy
8. Create a new file called convert.bat
9. convert.bat and paste the clipboard from Excel into the file and save
10. From a VS.Net 2005 command line, execute the convert.bat file piping it to convert.log: convert.bat >> convert.log

This process will upgrade the projects to .Net 2.0, create a backup of the original files, and output an upgrade report in XML format (UpgradeLog.xml).

Using Windows Explorer or your favorite searching tool (RegEx, FindStr, etc.), find all the UpgradeLog.xml files possessing the string “

Resolve all upgrade / conversion issues. Likely, this will be a manual process. (i.e. open up the project and resolve issues)

Use MSBuild to compile the newly-converted .Net 2.0 projects

1. In Excel, copy the column containing all project files (B)
2. Open a second worksheet; paste into column B
3. Type msbuild in the A1 cell; copy it down into the next several hundred rows
4. In the C1 cell, paste in the following formula =A1& " " & B1; copy it down into the next several hundred rows
5. Select the C column and copy
6. Create a new file called compile.bat
7. Open compile.bat and paste the clipboard from Excel into the file and save
8. From a VS.Net 2005 command line, execute the compile.bat file piping it to compile.log: compile.bat >> compile.log

Resolve all compilation issues. Likely, this will be a manual process. (i.e. open up the project and resolve issues)

Issues Encountered

• Broken references
• System.Diagnostics.Assert no longer supported. Use System.Diagnostics.Trace.Assert()
• Post Build Events e.g. GAC’ing using hard-coded gacutil.exe path (e.g. call "c:\program files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\common7\tools\vsvars32.bat")
• Broken pre/post-build event scripting
• Enterprise Library hard-coded paths (e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft Enterprise Instrumentation\Bin\Microsoft.EnterpriseInstrumentation.dll)
• C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET\FrameworkSDK\Lib\' specified in 'LIB environment variable' -- 'The system cannot find the path specified. ' à Resolution: remove all vc98 references from LIB path, reboot
• Use project properties dialog to set keyfile instead of within AssemblyInfo.cs ([assembly: AssemblyKeyFile(@"W:\ServiceFramework\_setup\key.snk")]) – could be scripted
• Many events and methods unavailable in Enterprise Library 2.0
• NUnit 2.0 implementation different / incompatible from 1.0 (Broken/missing test harness projects)
• Missing framework references
• Missing web.config files
• 'System.Xml.Xsl.XslTransform' is obsolete: 'This class has been deprecated. Please use System.Xml.Xsl.XslCompiledTransform instead. http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=14202'
• Devenv /upgrade converts .Net 1.1 web applications to .Net 2.0 Web Site Projects instead of Web Application Projects. These projects must be individually converted from WSP to WAP.

Happy upgrading!