How to determine the .NET platform that runs the .NET Standard class library?

Question

.NET Standard Library — One library to rule them all.

The .NET Standard Library functionality may vary depending on the .NET platform that runs it:

• .NET Framework
• .NET Core
• Xamarin

How to check the .NET platform where the .NET Standard library currently runs?

For example:

// System.AppContext.TargetFrameworkName 
// returns ".NETFramework,Version=v4.6.1" for .NET Framework 
// and
// returns null for .NET Core.

if (IsNullOrWhiteSpace(System.AppContext.TargetFrameworkName))
    // the platform is .NET Core or at least not .NET Framework
else
    // the platform is .NET Framework

Is it reliable way to answer the question (at least for .NET Framework and .NET Core)?

Answer 1

Use the RuntimeInformation.FrameworkDescription Property from the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace.

Returns a string that indicates the name of the .NET installation on which an app is running.

The property returns one of the following strings:

• ".NET Core".

• ".NET Framework".

• ".NET Native".