What version of .Net framework should be targeted for end user apps

Question

I am writing a little application in android which would have a server part in.Net (C#). Obviously I want to target maximum number of end users, without having to deal with no framework installed issues.

I was wondering which.Net framework should I target for my app? Or which version may I expect to be most definitely there on a user's machine?

Thanks,

Answer 1

Or which version may I expect to be most definitely there on a user's machine?

This really depends on your user base.

If you want to target all platforms, you can't guarantee that any reasonable version will be there, so your deployment should include a check and installation of the framework. Note that, if you know your user base is typically on Windows 7, for example, you can guarantee that they'll have .NET 3.5 , but if some are using XP, there is no guarantee, as no version was included with XP.

Personally, I would just target the version that you wish, and always include a framework installation. The "cost" of including the check to install the framework, especially if you use the web installer, is very small - much smaller than the development cost of targeting an older framework version and limiting yourself to a less rich development experience.