Background

We recently encountered an issue where a customer upgraded from BC14 to BC23.3 and requested the latest version of our ISV app. Although we provided a runtime version based on Application BC 23.3 and Platform BC 23.0, parts of the app didn't function properly. The app could be installed in this database without immediate errors, possibly with a warning that was ignored by the other partner. However, due to the incompatibility of the versions, some features were non-functional. Supporting this configuration is challenging as it disrupts our CI/CD processes and testing capabilities.

Optional Installation Environment Check

It would be beneficial to have an easy way to validate during the installation of the app whether the platform and application versions match the runtime version it was built with. The goal is to have the option of throwing an error and prohibiting the installation of the app if there is a version mismatch.

Summary

By incorporating this validation step during installation, you can prevent unsupported installations, ensuring that your app operates only in environments you support. This approach helps maintain stability and reliability for your app and its users, avoiding issues like those encountered with the BC14 to BC23.3 upgrade scenario. 

While we are not against partners performing a technical upgrade from version 14 to version 23 (as described here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/upgrade/upgrade-technical-upgrade-v14-v23), we cannot support this in our ISV app.