For Silverlight projects, does it matter what .NET Framework version I choose in the "New Project" dialog?

Question

As far as I know, Silverlight applications do not run on the .NET Framework's CLR, but on an independent, subset version of it called the Core CLR. I also know that I can change the Silverlight version in the Project Properties window:

Yet, when I create a Silverlight Application project via the New Project dialog, I can choose a .NET Framework version:

Does this choice of a .NET Framework version have any effect whatsoever for Silverlight projects, or is this setting ignored?

Answer 1

Short answer: The .NET Framework version option has no immediate effect on the Silverlight project created, but on the (optional) ASP.NET Web Application project that will host the Silverlight application.

Longer answer:

When creating a Silverlight Application project, Visual Studio will ask you whether you want to also create a ASP.NET Web Application project to host your Silverlight application:

If you choose to create such a project, it will target the .NET Framework version chosen in the preceding New Project dialog.

To verify whether the .NET Framework version option really has no effect on the Silverlight project itself, I created two Silverlight Application projects, one with the .NET Framework 4 selected, and another project with .NET Framework version 4.5.1. Then I compared the two generated .csproj project files. Neither project file mentions any .NET Framework version at all, but instead this:

<TargetFrameworkIdentifier>Silverlight</TargetFrameworkIdentifier>
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v5.0</TargetFrameworkVersion>
<SilverlightVersion>$(TargetFrameworkVersion)</SilverlightVersion>