Migration

Q: How deeply does Building Distributed Applications that Work cover migration?

Gives project-file edits and CLI commands for a staged upgrade; does not detail application-code changes.

As explained in Building Distributed Applications that Work

Migration is the process of adapting an existing software system or project to another platform version or environment.

Migration adapts an existing Aspire application to a newer version without rebuilding its services. For an Aspire 8 application with a web frontend, API, and SQL Server integration, the practical route to Aspire 13 is to upgrade to Aspire 9 first, then use Aspire’s update tool. section 10.1.1

Upgrade in two stages:

From Aspire 8 to 9, edit the AppHost project file manually: add an `Aspire.AppHost.Sdk` element with a 9.x version and update the host, integration, and Aspire client packages to 9.x. Consider updating a .NET 8 solution to at least .NET 9. section 10.1.1
From Aspire 9 to 13, install the Aspire CLI, go to the solution, and run `aspire update`. It updates Aspire-related SDK and package references across the solution. A manual update to 13.x is also possible; use `aspire update --self` when the CLI itself needs updating. section 10.1.2

Listing 10.2 .NET Aspire 9 project definition

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <Sdk Name="Aspire.AppHost.Sdk" Version="9.0.0" />   #1

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <IsAspireHost>true</IsAspireHost>
    <UserSecretsId>b6070f86-3ef8-4a16-bc70-cdeed5b2851f</UserSecretsId>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <ProjectReference Include="..\AspireApp.ApiService\AspireApp.ApiService.csproj" />
    <ProjectReference Include="..\AspireApp.Web\AspireApp.Web.csproj" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.AppHost" Version="9.2.1" />   #2
    <PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.SqlServer" Version="9.2.1" /> #3
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Compare the Aspire 9 AppHost definition with the older project: the SDK element is present, and the host and SQL Server packages have moved to 9.x. section 10.1.1

An updated Aspire 13 project may retain the older, more verbose project-file structure. That is supported. To use the shorter format, put `Aspire.AppHost.Sdk/` and its version in the top-level `Project` SDK attribute, then remove the separate SDK element, `IsAspireHost`, and `Aspire.Hosting.AppHost` reference. This changes the project-file syntax, not its behavior. Startup and orchestration code may remain in `Program.cs` or `AppHost.cs`, but not both. section 10.1.2

Listing 10.4 Modernized Aspire 13 project format

<Project Sdk="Aspire.AppHost.Sdk/13.1.0">   #1

  <PropertyGroup>    #2
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <UserSecretsId>2f2ef062-99af-422f-b6a5-1094759553e7</UserSecretsId>
  </PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
    <ProjectReference Include="..\AspireApp.ApiService\AspireApp.ApiService.csproj" />
    <ProjectReference Include="..\AspireApp.Web\AspireApp.Web.csproj" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.SqlServer" Version="13.3.5" /> #3
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Shows the shorter Aspire 13 AppHost definition after the optional project-file cleanup. section 10.1.2

How Building Distributed Applications that Work covers it

Cover of Building Distributed Applications that Work

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Related concepts

eltcontrasts with · ELT is a data-integration approach that extracts data, loads it into a target environment, and transforms it there.
RunPythonhas part · RunPython is a Django migration operation that executes supplied Python functions when migrating forward or backward.
data availabilityaddresses · Data availability is the extent to which required data exists and can be accessed for its intended uses when needed.
databaseuses · A database is an organized collection of persistent data managed by software for storage, retrieval, querying, and modification.
schemaconfigures · A data schema is a formal specification of the structure, fields, types, relationships, and constraints of data.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Building Distributed Applications that Work. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.