ValueTuple availability on various platforms
As part of VS2017, we have just released C# and VB support for tuples, which Mads describes in the C# 7.0 announcement post.
Under the covers, C#/VB tuples and corresponding F# 4.1 “struct tuples” are lowered into ValueTuple types of various arities and nesting, and tuple element names are stored in TupleElementNamesAttribute. Vlad describes both in some details in “How tuples relate to ValueTuple” and “More about tuple element names”.
Since the early prototyping work for tuples, we not only focused on language questions, but more generally the end-to-end experience of tuples. Central to that experience is how to make the ValueTuple types available.
Without those types, the compilation will fail and reports error CS8179: Predefined type 'System.ValueTuple`2' is not defined or imported.
In order to maximize scenarios were you can use tuples, we took a two-pronged approach:
- provide System.ValueTuple nuget package with support with existing frameworks,
- migrate ValueTuple and other types into core libraries as updated frameworks ship.
Naturally, a common question is: how soon can I use tuples without referencing this additional ValueTuple package?
Here is the latest status on migrating ValueTuple types into frameworks (as of April 2017) and the planned shipping vehicles (to the best of my knowledge):
| Version that includes ValueTuple | |
|---|---|
| Full/desktop framework | .NET Framework 4.7 and Windows 10 Creators Edition Update (RS2) |
| Core | 2.0 (with planned preview in Q2 2017, release in Q3, see roadmap) |
| Mono | Mono 5.0 |
| .Net Standard | .Net Standard 2.0 |
For older frameworks, the ValueTuple package should help fill the gap, including targets for netstandard1.0 and portable-net40+sl4+win8+wp8 (for Portable Class Libraries). I will keep the package updated as the migration into core libraries progresses, to provide as smooth and transparent an experience as possible.
This picture is further complicated as the ValueTuple types receive some minor updates (such as binary serializability). Such improvements will not be available to users of the ValueTuple package; they will only be implemented in frameworks themselves.
I keep track of all the library work related to ValueTuple types in this work items list. But if you have a specific question, it is probably easier to ask me directly in the comments section. Bug reports should go in the corefx github repo.
Known issues:
- Degraded QuickWatch experience when debugging an application compiled on the full framework 4.6 or earlier on a machine with 4.7 installed. See issue details. This will be mitigated in first quarterly release of VS2017 and expected to be fully fixed in 4.7.1.