I have long been a proponent of the FluentAssertions library, which allows you to write clearer assertion statements in your code fluently, regardless of your particular testing library. I have written a post on this in the past - Better Assertion Testing With FluentAssertions.

A few days ago, there was an announcement that the author of the library had entered into a “partnership” with Xceed software.

From version 8, you will required to pay a license for commercial use per developer, per year.

XceedPricing

As usual there is considerable debate on the license change and cost. The main objections seem to be:

  1. The change of the license is a “bait and switch.”
  2. The price is outrageous

FluentUpdate

This debate is as old as open-source software. What are the rights and obligations of the author of the software vis a vis those of the users of the software? Who, if not the author, has the right to decide whether and how much to charge? How should an author be compensated for his time and money?

I don’t think Dennis is wrong to want something in return for his dedication, given that the software has been available since 2011. The software and documentation are excellent and of very high quality.

If you currently use FluentAssertions you do have options:

  1. Continue to use the current version - 7
  2. Investigate alternatives. A promising one is Shouldly

TLDR

The FluentAssertions library has a significant change in version 8 that potentially affects developers in terms of cost and license.

Happy hacking!