The upgrade of Civil 3D and extension in >= .net 6 version

[soonhui]

I saw that you have the roadmap to upgrade Civil 3D and its extension from the current .net framework 4.8 to .net 6 version.

While I tentatively welcome the news. But I hope that Autodesk can do this right. Currently our application is based on .net framework 4.8, and to upgrade from .net framework 4.8 to .net 6 will take time on our side. Therefore we need a clear timeline from Autodesk so that we can prepare the upgrade of our main application and also our Civil 3D plugin in an orderly manner. I believe that a lot of plugin developers will agree with me.  

Alternatively, for the nuget for API, Autodesk should prepare .net framework 4.8 and .net 6 version, so that we can take our time to upgrade to .net 6. 

[Jeff_M]

@soonhui join the Beta testing project. You will be able to get a head start on the move .NET 8.

[KittyShen_Civil3D]

Hi @soonhui ,

Since C3D 2025, we will upgrade to .net 8. And based on our Tech team: Civil 3D 2025 will be migrated to .NET 8. The extension/plugin based on .Net Frameworks should be migrated to .NET 8 too. Otherwise, they can't work on Civil 3D 2025. There is no new .Net Frameworks nuget package for Civil 3D 2025.
Hope this is helpful for you.
Any further question, feel free to let us know. Thanks

[soonhui]

@KittyShen_Civil3D , I really thank you for popping in and replying me on a public forum.

But I'm really worried about your reply, mainly because we can no longer write our application in .net framework 4.8 and we are given a short time to wean off ourselves of that .net legacy framework. As explained, upgrading from .net framework 4.8 to .net 8.0 is a huge undertaking for us because we have a lot of legacy .net framework DLL dependencies, and we need to find replacements for them. We don't have enough time mainly because we aren't notified beforehand.  Though it appeared on your public board last year June, but

1. People don't read public board casually
2. The actual .net runtime was decided much later ( I think less than 1  month ago)

So all these put us in a difficult situation. I believe that other plugin developers will concur with me on this. 

Is it possible to support both .net framework 4.8 runtime and .net 8.0 simultaneously, at least at the start?

[KittyShen_Civil3D]

Hi @soonhui ,

Let me explain more here, the .net 8 upgrade only happens with R2025, so if you're with other earlier versions, I think your plugins will be fine. In this case, you could take your time on upgrading your plugins to .net 8 step by step until you think you're ready to use C3D 2025.

I hope this explanation will ease your worries.

[soonhui]

@KittyShen_Civil3D , but we can't tell our users not to or on hold upgrading to Civil 3D 2025, (and neither we can tell them to do so; they have their complete freedom). 

Hope you see our predicament. 

[KittyShen_Civil3D · Accepted solution]

Hi @soonhui,

I regret to inform you that the decision regarding the C3D product upgrade is not solely within the purview of our product team. We acknowledge your concerns and apologize for any inconvenience caused. However, this decision has been made at the corporate level, taking into careful consideration with the Microsoft .NET framework support plan.

It is imperative for C3D to align with the upgrades implemented by other products, particularly given its status as a vertical product of ACAD.

We kindly request your understanding in this matter and encourage you to proceed with assisting your users in the step-by-step upgrade process. Should any issues arise during the upgrade, please do not hesitate to inform us.

Please find additional detailed information about the upgrade and explore the utilization of R2025 on our Alpha and Beta pages：

- Alpha of R2025

- Beta of R2025

We appreciate your continued support!

[soonhui]

@KittyShen_Civil3D , very well then. I appreciate your complete honesty. Hopefully this conversation is useful for others. 

[TerryDotson]

I believe that other plugin developers will concur with me on this. 

Anyone who's been around here knows I've never held back on being critical of Autodesk when needed, but I side 100% with Autodesk on this one.  They gave notice of this months ago and have provided the needed content to anyone willing to agree to their NDA.  The (standalone) .NET community as a whole moved on years ago, so nobody can say they didn't see this coming.

As for distribution of a dual 4.8 / 8.0 AutoCAD that would be a massive, expensive option.  I would prefer they spend any extra resources they may have on reinforcing the Civil3D API to finish the FeatureLine API, move the Parcels API to .NET and finally shut the door on old COM substitutes.

For anyone who wants to be compatible on day one, roll up your sleeves, make a pot of coffee and get it done!  I've worked at least 72 hours per week for as long as I can remember and this coming spring plan to be ready to provide compatible add-ons on day one.  People who have invested in our add-ons deserve no less.

[Jeff_M]

@soonhui I'm in complete agreement with @TerryDotson & @KittyShen_Civil3D on this. Through the Beta site we have had access to the new builds for some time. I have 2 of my plug-ins converted to .NET 8 with just one more, small one, to do. It was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined.

[Anton_Huizinga]

I agree with this too. I can understand the concerns about time and continuing the old versions. In the beginning I worried too that we would not have enough time (besides our daily job we don't have much spare time for these changes), but with the beta versions of AutoCAD I started the porting of my code. Getting to understand the .NET 8 project structure was the most complex, the code itself needed hardly changes. And sure porting all your libraries will take time and sure you will run into issues. But now is the time to take the step and I am glad I started walking already 🙂

In the ObjectARX feedback forums I published a document with all issues I ran into and it contains valuable information how to set up a .NET 8 project. Hope that will help you ease the onset.

[soonhui]

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@Anton_Huizinga wrote:

I agree with this too. I can understand the concerns about time and continuing the old versions. In the beginning I worried too that we would not have enough time (besides our daily job we don't have much spare time for these changes), but with the beta versions of AutoCAD I started the porting of my code. Getting to understand the .NET 8 project structure was the most complex, the code itself needed hardly changes. And sure porting all your libraries will take time and sure you will run into issues. But now is the time to take the step and I am glad I started walking already 🙂

In the ObjectARX feedback forums I published a document with all issues I ran into and it contains valuable information how to set up a .NET 8 project. Hope that will help you ease the onset.

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Can you share with us the link to that document?

[Anton_Huizinga]

To start with, you need to be a beta tester, else you can't run AutoCAD Beta or Civil 3D Beta. If you are not, you can apply for this on https://feedback.autodesk.com

You can find the document in the AutoCAD Customer Council, user forums > ObjectARX API > First experiences with porting code to AutoCAD 2025 and .NET8. It makes no sense to spread the document here or in other forums, it is better to keep one source of thruth in case I update the document, and you have to have a Beta account anyway.