[ARM64] With NET7 RC1 installed, some files in the .exe installer and the .zip package are not identical

[WenJunJi01]

Environment:
OS: Windows 11(arm64)
SDK: 7.0.100-rc.1.22408.3 (runtime-7.0.0-rc.1.22403.8)

Repro steps:

1. Install net 7 RC1 SDK from https://aka.ms/dotnet/7.0.1xx/daily/dotnet-sdk-win-arm64.exe
2. Downloading and extracting the zip(https://aka.ms/dotnet/7.0.1xx/daily/dotnet-sdk-win-arm64.zip) archive of the .NET SDK
3. Use ToolWidff--see the difference after unchecking ‘identical files’
4. Running a folder diff on the extracted SDK and the install folder to make sure that everything matches

Expected Result:
All files are identical.

Actual Result:
These files are not identical.

Dotnet info:
.NET SDK:
Version: 7.0.100-rc.1.22408.3
Commit: c2621e8

Runtime Environment:
OS Name: Windows
OS Version: 10.0.25116
OS Platform: Windows
RID: win10-arm64
Base Path: C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\7.0.100-rc.1.22408.3\

Host:
Version: 7.0.0-rc.1.22403.8
Architecture: arm64
Commit: 26a71c61fb

.NET SDKs installed:
7.0.100-rc.1.22408.3 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]

.NET runtimes installed:
Microsoft.AspNetCore.App 7.0.0-rc.1.22404.6 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.AspNetCore.App]
Microsoft.NETCore.App 7.0.0-rc.1.22403.8 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.NETCore.App]
Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App 7.0.0-rc.1.22379.3 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App]

Other architectures found:
None

Environment variables:
Not set

global.json file:
Not found

Learn more:
https://aka.ms/dotnet/info

Download .NET:
https://aka.ms/dotnet/download

[marcpopMSFT]

I can't comment on the platformmanifest files as those come from other teams and it's not clear what the differences are.

The metadata and swidtag are expected differences

I'll take a look at the ref pack differences.

[WenJunJi01]

Also repro on .NET 7 RC2 SDK: 7.0.100-rc.2.22466.28(runtime- 7.0.0-rc.2.22464.1)

[WenJunJi01]

The same issue also repro on .NET 7 RTM SDK: 7.0.100-rtm.22511.20 (runtime- 7.0.0-rtm.22507.1)

[WenJunJi01]

It also reproduces on .NET 7 GA build: 7.0.100(runtime-7.0.0).

[WenJunJi01]

The similar issue repros on .NET 8 SDK: 8.0.100-alpha.1.22565.7 (runtime-8.0.0-alpha.1.22559.2)

[marcpopMSFT]

The similar issue repros on .NET 8 SDK: 8.0.100-alpha.1.22565.7 (runtime-8.0.0-alpha.1.22559.2)

@WenJunJi01 when you say it's similar in 8.0, which changes are similar? I no longer see the difference in the hosts or the contents of the reference pack directories. The only differences left are the metadata and swidtag which are expected.

[WenJunJi01]

@marcpopMSFT As shown below, with the latest .NET SDK 8.0.100-alpha.1.23060.24(runtime-8.0.0-alpha.1.23058.2) installed, these differences still exist.

There are some other differences in shared directories, except for eula.txt, others are related to bug #15001: [NETE2ESDK] With .NET 8.0 SDK zip/tar.gz installed, showing a redundant .NET Runtime

[WenJunJi01]

Repro with .NET 8 Preview 1 SDK installed.
Build info: 8.0.100-preview.1.23105.2(runtime-8.0.0-preview.1.23104.3)

[marcpopMSFT]

I think it's expected that all of the win architectures of the app host are included in one but not the other. CC @joeloff in case he knows a reason for that.

I'm still assuming that #15001 is caused by incoherent builds but we should keep an eye on it.

Not sure about the netstandard ref packs. CC @dsplaisted

[dsplaisted]

I checked the latest build (currently preview.1.23106.1) and didn't see the differences in the .NET Standard targeting pack from the image above. It looks like all of those files are included in both the zip install and the MSI install.

What did you use to do the diff?

[joeloff]

And how was the zip acquired? Was the install script used to acquire a zip or was the zip taken from the same build as the MSI based installation?

[WenJunJi01]

Also repro with .NET 8 Preview 3 SDK installed.
Build info: 8.0.100-preview.3.23177.13 (runtime-8.0.0-preview.3.23170.2)

[joeloff]

The TP would be downloaded, but if someone is using the zip in a closed environment that cannot download addition content, they would be unable to target .NET Standard

[marcpopMSFT]

We discussed in triage and are not planning on making changes for the netstandard targeting packs. It's been this way for quite a while and fewer people should be targeting this platform that before. We'll revisit if we get customer feedback.