Hi All,
It looks like Microsoft are gearing up to announce the EOL of the .Netframework and the next release looks to be it's last feature release and only security updates there after.
.NET Core is clearly the way forward and I think platforms like Umbraco need to be jumping on this and getting running fully and completely under .CORE
Having Umbraco be able to run on a wider range of server environments and development eco systems.
I know there has been talk about 9 but that all seems very distant. I believe if Umbraco Community focusing on this would actually be one of the biggest leaps and benefits for Umbraco since Umbraco Cloud in my view.
Having .NET Core CMS running with more development options could be a really big win for Umbraco, being an early changer would lead to I feel would be a big community boost and increase the revenue and evolution of the platform.
this question has been asked quite a few times at Codegarden and other events, so it's safe to answer, even if I'm not from the HQ.
Umbraco consists of tons of legacy code to support backward compatibility for former programming models. These code can't be ported to .NET Core because it depends heavily on behavior which is not available in .NET Core.
Before Umbraco can be adapted to .NET Core there must be a code cleanup step -- which is done in V8.
It doesn't make sense to accomplish these tasks (code cleanup and porting) in parallel. There exists some code as proof of concept here: https://github.com/Shazwazza/Umbraco9. It's a bare bone core with a console -- no UI etc.
I guess, that as soon as V8 is ready and stable it won't take as long as it took from V7 to V8 to get from V8 to V9 running on .NET Core. But this is only my personal guess.
That may have been true back in the distant past of .NET Core 1.0 but I'd be very surprised if it was the case now. Thousand of APIs have been added to NET Core since the first releases Shannon based his code on.
I'd be surprised if there was anything technical stopping it now.
Well it is all in for MS in this regard. With Visual Studio 2019 the Mac and PC developments will be even closer but as James has pointed out, even from the time I have posted the progress on all this has been very rapid.
Microsoft want this unified platform and getting into it. Companies like Kentico have already released steps towards this with Kentico 12 for example. They were not even MVC but have released a big step and already many elements transitioned to .net Core with the intention to be fully on that as soon as they can.
I think getting fully on .net Core and supporting mac and linux development should be high priority for Umbraco to get more developers into it.
Any solution that is both .NET and under the modern ecology and evolution of that under this new Microsoft that allows developers from Linux, Mac and PC to compile and work together on projects and solutions would see immense attention and focus.
CMS solutions and other platforms that own this and drive forward in this regard would help to encourage what I believe will be a big shift from the Vue and React and JS based shift back to a core programming language finally updated for the modern age.
Umbraco has to be getting in there without any question in my eyes. It is why I would love to see it embrace graphQL and I hope the efforts there from a select group come of fruit.
Having a solution that covers the basics for you and allows developers to get stuck in creating rich and diverse websites and systems - Developers dream.
I know it's still really early, but now that v8 is out, is anyone actively working on a .NET Core version of Umbraco? All the efforts I've seen are years old at this point. I'd like to see how I can help with the migration, if possible.
They not really said anything yet.
I think regardless what the plans WERE, I think this is top priority. Even Enterprise solutions are lagging on this.
Umbraco being able to be proper MVC as it is and unlike the clunky solutions of other platforms out there and then being able to say they are .NET core and can be developed fully on MAC or PC and not even just Visual Studio..
That is MASSIVE!
If Umbraco did a paid version that offered a form of CRM and a built in eCommerce solution at least, maybe a marketing solution. Then they would have a true out of the box CMS and our agency would be all over it for example. Many would if the price was competitive. Adobe failed with their Business Catalyst platform not because of the platform but bad management.
I think many of the .NET solutions as indicated are stuck in the past, too slow or struggling to move with the pace that Microsoft is taking .NET.
Umbraco being right there can really take it to the next level and grab a massive chunk of the market.
As foreshadowed in the original post, Microsoft has just announced eventual EOL of .NET Framework, eventually replacing it with an evolution of .NET core. Details are still a bit un-clear.
If v8 is a clean-up that represents the beginning of a process of moving over, then I'm happy with that approach. This is a huge ecosystem transition, and if not correctly managed, can cause a lot of pain. I don't think we should feel under pressure to adopt every new framework, especially when the guidance is endlessly changing. But there eventually will be a migration... so easing that eventual pain by simplifying and tidying up makes a lot of sense.
While .NET Core looks very similar to the .NET Framework in respect to the framework classes you can use, it's based on a different kind of architectural thinking. People using Umbraco on .NET Core will want to make use of this architectural concepts.
One big part of the work seems to me the decomposition of big nuget packages into small .NET Standard packages. There shouldn't be one big Umbraco monolith, but several Modules you can combine to your solution.
It is the future of .Net and Core is becoming .Net:
www.automationmission.com/2019/07/31/the-new-golden-age-of-net-is-upon-us/
So it is basically the thing to be doing and as I mentioned before, the platforms updated sooner will get a massive boost and head start on everyone else.
Enterprise platforms like Kentico are way behind and their early MVC effort is pretty pore let alone their plans and time scale for the .Net updates.
For me the Umbraco team and efforts here should be priority and would see a massive jump. Umbraco cross server and development platform, up to date and future proof is a big deal.
@Liam Agreed. The work has started and we're trying to strike a balance between .Net Core architecture and easy adoption/transition in the perspective of how Umbraco is being used. We're being transparent about the process via the RFCs on Github. Feel free to contribute with feedback.
@Niels: Have you ever thought about crowdfunding specific for this project? While we do not see great value in concepts such as gold partnership, we would contribute a noticeable amount to this project.
From my conversations at the Umbraco Festival and Codegarden, I can say that there are quite some companies out there that think similarly.
Is it feasible/helpful for an intermediate-level .NET/JS/Angular developer with little prior experience working on the Umbraco codebase to contribute meaningfully to the Unicore project?
If so, how can one find out where contributions are needed, and start contributing?
Umbraco 8 Core
Hi All, It looks like Microsoft are gearing up to announce the EOL of the .Netframework and the next release looks to be it's last feature release and only security updates there after.
.NET Core is clearly the way forward and I think platforms like Umbraco need to be jumping on this and getting running fully and completely under .CORE
Having Umbraco be able to run on a wider range of server environments and development eco systems.
I know there has been talk about 9 but that all seems very distant. I believe if Umbraco Community focusing on this would actually be one of the biggest leaps and benefits for Umbraco since Umbraco Cloud in my view.
Having .NET Core CMS running with more development options could be a really big win for Umbraco, being an early changer would lead to I feel would be a big community boost and increase the revenue and evolution of the platform.
Hi Liam,
this question has been asked quite a few times at Codegarden and other events, so it's safe to answer, even if I'm not from the HQ.
Umbraco consists of tons of legacy code to support backward compatibility for former programming models. These code can't be ported to .NET Core because it depends heavily on behavior which is not available in .NET Core.
Before Umbraco can be adapted to .NET Core there must be a code cleanup step -- which is done in V8.
It doesn't make sense to accomplish these tasks (code cleanup and porting) in parallel. There exists some code as proof of concept here: https://github.com/Shazwazza/Umbraco9. It's a bare bone core with a console -- no UI etc.
I guess, that as soon as V8 is ready and stable it won't take as long as it took from V7 to V8 to get from V8 to V9 running on .NET Core. But this is only my personal guess.
Cheers Mirko
That may have been true back in the distant past of .NET Core 1.0 but I'd be very surprised if it was the case now. Thousand of APIs have been added to NET Core since the first releases Shannon based his code on.
I'd be surprised if there was anything technical stopping it now.
Well it is all in for MS in this regard. With Visual Studio 2019 the Mac and PC developments will be even closer but as James has pointed out, even from the time I have posted the progress on all this has been very rapid.
Microsoft want this unified platform and getting into it. Companies like Kentico have already released steps towards this with Kentico 12 for example. They were not even MVC but have released a big step and already many elements transitioned to .net Core with the intention to be fully on that as soon as they can.
I think getting fully on .net Core and supporting mac and linux development should be high priority for Umbraco to get more developers into it.
I couldn't possibly agree more.
Any solution that is both .NET and under the modern ecology and evolution of that under this new Microsoft that allows developers from Linux, Mac and PC to compile and work together on projects and solutions would see immense attention and focus.
CMS solutions and other platforms that own this and drive forward in this regard would help to encourage what I believe will be a big shift from the Vue and React and JS based shift back to a core programming language finally updated for the modern age.
Umbraco has to be getting in there without any question in my eyes. It is why I would love to see it embrace graphQL and I hope the efforts there from a select group come of fruit.
Having a solution that covers the basics for you and allows developers to get stuck in creating rich and diverse websites and systems - Developers dream.
I know it's still really early, but now that v8 is out, is anyone actively working on a .NET Core version of Umbraco? All the efforts I've seen are years old at this point. I'd like to see how I can help with the migration, if possible.
They not really said anything yet. I think regardless what the plans WERE, I think this is top priority. Even Enterprise solutions are lagging on this. Umbraco being able to be proper MVC as it is and unlike the clunky solutions of other platforms out there and then being able to say they are .NET core and can be developed fully on MAC or PC and not even just Visual Studio..
That is MASSIVE!
If Umbraco did a paid version that offered a form of CRM and a built in eCommerce solution at least, maybe a marketing solution. Then they would have a true out of the box CMS and our agency would be all over it for example. Many would if the price was competitive. Adobe failed with their Business Catalyst platform not because of the platform but bad management.
I think many of the .NET solutions as indicated are stuck in the past, too slow or struggling to move with the pace that Microsoft is taking .NET.
Umbraco being right there can really take it to the next level and grab a massive chunk of the market.
I'm also interested in the migration, rest of my infra runs on .net core and it would be nice to be able to unify it.
As foreshadowed in the original post, Microsoft has just announced eventual EOL of .NET Framework, eventually replacing it with an evolution of .NET core. Details are still a bit un-clear.
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/introducing-net-5/
If v8 is a clean-up that represents the beginning of a process of moving over, then I'm happy with that approach. This is a huge ecosystem transition, and if not correctly managed, can cause a lot of pain. I don't think we should feel under pressure to adopt every new framework, especially when the guidance is endlessly changing. But there eventually will be a migration... so easing that eventual pain by simplifying and tidying up makes a lot of sense.
While .NET Core looks very similar to the .NET Framework in respect to the framework classes you can use, it's based on a different kind of architectural thinking. People using Umbraco on .NET Core will want to make use of this architectural concepts.
One big part of the work seems to me the decomposition of big nuget packages into small .NET Standard packages. There shouldn't be one big Umbraco monolith, but several Modules you can combine to your solution.
You can find the discussion about the project here: https://github.com/umbraco/rfcs/blob/2662fc59dbe53c4aa512bd76557a375f773f3ec3/cms/0001-project-unicore-intro.md
It is the future of .Net and Core is becoming .Net: www.automationmission.com/2019/07/31/the-new-golden-age-of-net-is-upon-us/
So it is basically the thing to be doing and as I mentioned before, the platforms updated sooner will get a massive boost and head start on everyone else. Enterprise platforms like Kentico are way behind and their early MVC effort is pretty pore let alone their plans and time scale for the .Net updates.
For me the Umbraco team and efforts here should be priority and would see a massive jump. Umbraco cross server and development platform, up to date and future proof is a big deal.
@Liam Agreed. The work has started and we're trying to strike a balance between .Net Core architecture and easy adoption/transition in the perspective of how Umbraco is being used. We're being transparent about the process via the RFCs on Github. Feel free to contribute with feedback.
@Niels: Have you ever thought about crowdfunding specific for this project? While we do not see great value in concepts such as gold partnership, we would contribute a noticeable amount to this project.
From my conversations at the Umbraco Festival and Codegarden, I can say that there are quite some companies out there that think similarly.
@Niels,
Is it feasible/helpful for an intermediate-level .NET/JS/Angular developer with little prior experience working on the Umbraco codebase to contribute meaningfully to the Unicore project?
If so, how can one find out where contributions are needed, and start contributing?
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