Question 1

How do I migrate from standard .NET MEF to vs-mef?

Accepted Answer

Replace the MEF host with vs-mef's engine while keeping your existing attributes; the 'Getting started' documentation provides step-by-step guides for a smooth transition with minimal code changes.

Question 2

Is vs-mef faster than the default MEF in .NET?

Accepted Answer

Yes, vs-mef is designed for high performance, with benchmarks showing significant speed improvements in composition, especially for large catalogs like those in Visual Studio extensions, as noted in the 'Why VS-MEF?' docs.

Question 3

Can I use vs-mef with ASP.NET Core applications?

Accepted Answer

While technically possible, vs-mef is optimized for Visual Studio and may not integrate seamlessly with ASP.NET Core's built-in DI; consider standard MEF or other containers for web projects to avoid complexity.

Question 4

What's the difference between vs-mef and System.Composition?

Accepted Answer

vs-mef is a faster, Visual Studio-optimized implementation that supports both System.ComponentModel.Composition and System.Composition, but has differences in hosting and performance, detailed in the library differences documentation.

Question 5

How to debug MEF issues with VSMefx tool?

Accepted Answer

VSMefx allows you to load catalogs, inspect parts, and diagnose problems like missing exports or circular dependencies; use it as a standalone diagnostic tool to troubleshoot composition errors effectively.

Question 6

Does vs-mef work with .NET 6 or later versions?

Accepted Answer

vs-mef targets .NET Standard and should be compatible with .NET 6+, but check the NuGet package specifics and documentation for any version-specific limitations or updates.

VS MEF

What is VS MEF?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Related Projects

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Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions