Removing reference from project does not remove it from the dependencies tree

[drewnoakes]

Visual Studio Version: Version 16.9.0 Preview 3.0 [30904.159.main]

(Moved from AB#1257238)

Likely a result of recent dependency tree changes.

Repro steps:

1. Create project

   <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
    <PropertyGroup>
      <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.1</TargetFramework>
    </PropertyGroup>
    <ItemGroup>
      <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="12.0.3" />
    </ItemGroup>
   </Project>

2. Manually remove the PackageReference item and save the project
3. The item is still visible in the dependencies tree

---

This doesn't happen for assembly references.

[AraHaan]

does it get removed when you use dotnet restore on the command line and then reloading the project itself?

[drewnoakes]

The bug is in VS. Removing the item from the project updates the project.assets.json file correctly.

[drewnoakes]

Reloading the project in VS fixes it too.

[AraHaan]

How about have it automatically reload the project every time the project system updates that json file?

[drewnoakes]

VS monitors that file. The bug is localised to the code that manages the tree. It isn't responding to the change notification correctly.

[drewnoakes]

I have a fix for this. Will spend a little time tomorrow to tidy up some of the code around this area, as the fix on its own is very cryptic, and I think the class can be made more straightforward.