Why does "Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Scripting.Common" need a fixed version from "Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common"?

[StefH]

When I look at the NuGet dependencies for:
Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Scripting.Common - 3.4.0, I see this:

Why is an exact version 3.4.0 needed ? And not just => 3.4.0 ?

See also

• Error NU1107 Version conflict detected for Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common #31441

[sharwell]

The scripting libraries use internal APIs from other layers. There is no guarantee that these will work except when the versions are an exact match. For example:

roslyn/src/Compilers/Core/Portable/Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.csproj

Line 54 in 75fb12b

<InternalsVisibleTo Include="Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Scripting" />

In other words, this dependency is a true version-locked dependency.

[StefH]

This design makes using/referencing the Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Scripting in another project (like https://www.nuget.org/packages/CS-Script.Core/) impossible because when you use another library like (Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design) you cannot install this:

Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design 3.1.1: Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common (= 3.3.1)
CS-Script.Core 1.3.1: Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common (= 3.4.0)

[jmarolf]

You should be able to pick a version that matches the dependency for Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design. Is that not possible?

[sharwell]

Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design
CS-Script.Core

Neither of these packages has access to the internal APIs. I'm not sure why they would use fixed versions.

[StefH]

CS-Script.Core uses Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Scripting.Common 3.4.0 which needs a fixed version Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common (= 3.4.0)

Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design uses this path:
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration 3.1.1 -> Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.EntityFrameworkCore 3.1.1 -> Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Core 3.1.1 -> Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Templating 3.1.1 -> Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Utils 3.1.1 -> Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Workspaces 3.3.1 -> Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common (= 3.3.1).
Which ends in using a fixed version 3.3.1

So it's impossible to install these 2 libraries in 1 single project.
Normally when using => 3.3.1, this works out fine.

[sharwell]

Have you tried explicitly installing Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Workspaces version 3.4.0 in the same project?

[StefH]

This indeed solves the issue (because it's allowed to install a higher version for Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Workspaces)