Types of Deployment in .NET Core
💡 Concept Name
Deployment Types in .NET Core
📘 Quick Intro
.NET Core supports multiple deployment models that determine how your application and its dependencies are delivered to the target system.
🧠 Analogy / Short Story
Think of Framework-Dependent Deployment as sending someone a shortcut to a file assuming they already have the app installed, while Self-Contained Deployment is like sending the whole application along with its own portable runtime.
🔧 Technical Explanation
- 📦 Framework-Dependent Deployment (FDD): App runs using a .NET runtime already installed on the host machine.
- 🚀 Self-Contained Deployment (SCD): Bundles your app + .NET runtime. No dependency on host machine.
- 🎯 Single-file Executable: Optional publishing mode where the app and runtime are merged into one executable file.
- 🛡️ Trimmed Deployment: Removes unused libraries to reduce final output size (used with SCD or single file).
🎯 Purpose & Use Case
- ✅ FDD: Ideal for environments where .NET is pre-installed (e.g., internal servers).
- ✅ SCD: Useful when you can't control target environments (cross-platform tools, Docker, external customers).
- ✅ Single File: Simplifies distribution.
- ✅ Trimming: Useful for microservices or embedded systems with size limits.
💻 Real Code Example
Framework-Dependent Deployment:
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained falseSelf-Contained Deployment:
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained trueSingle-File + Trimming:
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 /p:PublishSingleFile=true /p:PublishTrimmed=true
❓ Interview Q&A
Q1: What is Framework-Dependent Deployment?
A: A model where the app relies on .NET runtime already installed on the system.
Q2: What is Self-Contained Deployment?
A: It includes the app and the .NET runtime for maximum portability.
Q3: Can you create a single .exe file with .NET Core?
A: Yes, using PublishSingleFile option.
Q4: What is trimming?
A: Removing unused code from assemblies to reduce the app size.
Q5: Which deployment is best for unknown environments?
A: Self-contained deployment.
📝 MCQs
Q1. Which deployment relies on pre-installed .NET runtime?
- Self-Contained Deployment
- Framework-Dependent Deployment
- Single File Deployment
- Docker-based Deployment
Q2. Which deployment includes .NET runtime?
- FDD
- SCD
- ILMerge
- CLI Deployment
Q3. What does PublishSingleFile do?
- Minifies code
- Runs unit tests
- Creates a single executable
- Compresses app
Q4. What is the purpose of trimming?
- Speed up build
- Reduce app size
- Enhance security
- Enable logging
Q5. Which tool is used to deploy .NET apps?
- dotnet run
- dotnet compile
- dotnet deploy
- dotnet publish
💡 Bonus Insight
For Docker-based deployments, Self-contained deployments are often used to ensure the container doesn't depend on the host OS's runtime environment. Alpine Linux images benefit significantly from trimming and single-file bundling.
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