Version History

This chapter documents the different active development lines of the Beckhoff.TwinCAT.ADS .NET API and its package Versions.

Several flavours of the .NET Framework exist (both actually still supported and outdated). Therefore different versions of the packages exist that support the different .NET lines and releases. Background information can be read here: Fundamentals about .NET Full Framework, .NET Core and the supported Operating Systems

Here we highlight the different version lines of the Beckhoff.TwinCAT.ADS .NET API package and their link to the .NET Framework.

Version support lifecycle

Package

Description

.NET Framework

TwinCAT

Active Support

Version 7.0.X

Frameworks support of .NET 10.0 and below (.NET Core)

net10.0 (LTS), net8.0 (LTS), netstandard2.0

>= 2.10

All TwinCAT Systems supported locally.

X

Version 6.2.X

Frameworks support of .NET 8.0 and below (.NET Core)

net8.0 (LTS), net6.0 (LTS), netstandard2.0

>= 3.1.4024.10

Requirement on the Host system. No version limitation in remote system communication.

X

Version 6.1.X

Framework support of .NET 7.0 [1] and below (.NET Core)

net7.0, net6.0 (LTS), netstandard2.0

>= 3.1.4024.10

Requirement on the Host system. No version limitation in remote system communication.

O [4]

Version 6.0.X

Framework support of .NET 6.0 and below (.NET Core)

net6.0 (LTS), netcoreapp3.1, netstandard2.0, net461

>= 3.1.4024.10

Requirement on the Host system. No version limitation in remote system communication.

O [5][7]

Version 5.X

Framework support of .NET 5.0 [2] and below (.NET Core)

net5.0, netcoreapp3.1, netstandard2.0, net461

>= 3.1.4024.10

Requirement on the Host system. No version limitation in remote system communication.

O [6][7]

Version 4.X

Package basing on .NET Framework 4.0 (Full Framework)

net4

All

X

Migrating to the latest .NET.

Microsoft .NET support lifecycle.

.NET Release Timeline

The following table shows the major .NET releases and their support lifecycle:

Index

.NET Version

Release Date

End of Support

[1]

.NET 10.0 (LTS)

November 2025 (Expected)

November 2028 (Expected)

[2]

.NET 9.0

November 12, 2024

May 12, 2026

[3]

.NET 8.0 (LTS)

November 14, 2023

November 10, 2026

[4]

.NET 7.0

November 8, 2022

May 14, 2024

[5]

.NET 6.0 (LTS)

November 8, 2021

November 12, 2024

[6]

.NET 5.0

November 10, 2020

May 8, 2022

[7]

.NET Core 3.1 (LTS)

December 3, 2019

December 13, 2022

[8]

.NET Core 3.0

September 23, 2019

March 3, 2020

Note: LTS (Long Term Support) versions receive support for 3 years, while standard releases are supported for 18 months.

Other Resources

TwinCAT ADS .NET API Documentation

Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG 2001-2026