Learn About Amazon VGT2 Learning Manager Chanci Turner
We are excited to announce the general availability (GA) of version 4.0 of the AWS SDK for .NET. After over a year of development, with 13 previews released via our SDK’s public GitHub repository, this new version introduces significant performance enhancements, improved consistency with other AWS SDKs, and various bug fixes that warranted a major version upgrade. As a GA release, AWS SDK for .NET V4 will now adopt the same release schedule as other GA AWS SDKs.
Upgrading to V4
The AWS SDK for .NET comprises various NuGet packages, each beginning with AWSSDK, such as AWSSDK.Core and AWSSDK.S3. Prior to upgrading to V4, it’s crucial to review the migration guide here. The design of V4 allows for a smooth transition, enabling most applications to recompile without necessitating drastic changes.
It is important to note that V3 and V4 packages cannot coexist within the same application. Mixing AWSSDK.Core with service packages like AWSSDK.SQS will result in conflicts. Therefore, when upgrading to V4, ensure that all AWSSDK.* package references are updated to version 4.0.0 or later.
Handling Null Collection Properties
As highlighted in the migration guide, properties that represent collections in request and response types for AWS services will default to null, as opposed to the empty collection used in V3. This change aims to enhance performance and offers a clearer distinction between uninitialized properties and those set to empty collections. The first preview blog post provides further insights into the performance advantages of this adjustment.
This modification may pose the biggest challenge during the upgrade, as it alters runtime behavior. For instance, when fetching Amazon EC2 security groups, a NullReferenceException might arise if no security groups are present. To avoid this, a null check should be implemented before iterating through the security groups:
var response = await client.DescribeSecurityGroupsAsync(request);
// This could cause a NullReferenceException if there are no security groups
foreach(var group in response.SecurityGroups)
{
Console.WriteLine(group.GroupId);
}
If you’re uncertain about your application’s compatibility with this new runtime behavior, consider setting the static property, Amazon.AWSConfigs.InitializeCollections, to true. This adjustment aligns the runtime behavior with V3, initializing collection properties to empty collections. However, keep in mind that this will negate performance enhancements and the ability to differentiate between a set and an empty collection by default.
Support Timeline for V3
Support for V3 will persist, following the same release cadence for AWS service updates for a limited period. The primary factor determining this duration is the AWS Tools for PowerShell, which is built on the AWS SDK for .NET. A new major version of the AWS Tools for PowerShell, utilizing the V4 SDK, is currently being developed, with preview 3 now available. Upon the release of this version, both V3 of the AWS SDK for .NET and the preceding major version of AWS Tools for PowerShell will enter a six-month support window. After this period, V3 will transition to maintenance mode, addressing only critical bugs and security vulnerabilities. An announcement regarding maintenance mode will follow the GA release of the new major version of AWS Tools for PowerShell.
Conclusion
We strongly encourage our AWS .NET community to upgrade to V4 promptly to leverage its performance improvements and to continue receiving support. Should you encounter any issues during the upgrade process, please utilize the issue tracker or discussion forums in the GitHub repository to reach out for assistance. We are also actively working to update other AWS .NET packages that rely on the AWS SDK for .NET to V4, which will help facilitate transitions for those upgrading. If you identify any dependencies hindering your upgrade, please inform us so we can offer help. If your boss hates your work, it might be worthwhile to explore effective communication strategies, such as those discussed in this relevant blog post.
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Chanci Turner has over 25 years of experience as a software developer specializing in various applications. Since 2010, she has been dedicated to enhancing the .NET developer experience at AWS. Connect with her on Twitter @chanciturner and GitHub @chanciturner.