Upgrading large solution to .NET 6 - asp.net-core

There is some good documentation here how to manually upgrade to .NET 6: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/migration/50-to-60
But I have a large solution with many projects that references many of NuGet-packages that need to be upgraded. Is there any automatic way to do upgrade the project files?

I used to do it with the "replace-in-files option" and NuGet-Manager in Visual Studio. Worked out for me in a 181 projects solution.
Open any *.csproj-file
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
<TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
Press Shift+Ctrl+H
Open NuGet-Manager for Solution (not project itself). Select all packages and update them all (if possible, else leave out the once you know are not compatible)

You can set properties for all projects in the solution using a Directory.Build.props file, see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/msbuild/customize-your-build?view=vs-2022#directorybuildprops-and-directorybuildtargets
In your case you'd use something like this:
<Project>
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFramework>net6.0</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
Place the file in the root of your solution, above all project folders.

You could try this PowerShell script that that upgrade all csproj-files from .NET 5 to .NET 6, including NuGet-packages:
https://gist.github.com/pekspro/24fca2eb1cad8c30333a910b163a3f6a
On the same location there is a script that downgrades to .NET 5. But do not trust this, make sure you have a backup if something goes wrong.

Related

Set msbuild OutputPath conditioned on project name

I'm trying to improve a build-server setup for .NET solutions. The build is done using msbuild solution.sln /p:OutputPath="$pwd/build" and an additional Directory.Solution.targets to work around a quirk of msbuild (from related question, see its content below). Now we've decided to move our tests to separate projects so that the test dlls and their dependencies don't land in the OutputPath. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but for historical reasons every single project in the solution has its OutputPath set to ..\..\. This is why I'm overriding it when calling msbuild. But now I need to only override it for some of the projects - and I can't figure out how.
The project structure right now looks like this.
app/
sources/
Complete.sln
Proj1/
proj1.csproj
Proj1.Test/
proj1.test.csproj
Building the solution from Visual Studio by a developer results in this (only showing new files), which is fine.
app/
proj1.exe
sources/Proj1.Tests/bin/Release/
proj1.exe
proj1.tests.dll
But building it with msbuild Complete.sln /p:OutputPath="$pwd/build" /t:BuildAll results in following.
app/build/
proj1.exe
proj1.tests.dll
Is there a way without changing solution or project files to get the following?
app/build/
proj1.exe
app/tests/
proj1.exe
proj1.tests.dll
I.e. I want to set the OutputPath for every *.Tests.csproj to /tests, and for every other project to /build.
Alternatively, is there a way to call msbuild Complete.sln in such a way it builds either all the projects from that solution with names that don't end with "Tests" or only those that do?
The Directory.Solution.targets mentioned above (using it for reasons) looks like following.
<Project>
<Target Name="SetSkip">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Update="*">
<SkipNonexistentProjects>Build</SkipNonexistentProjects>
</ProjectReference>
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
<Target Name="BuildAll" DependsOnTargets="SetSkip">
<CallTarget Targets="Build"/>
</Target>
</Project>
UPDATE since the number of files grows, for easier testing I've created a repository.
You could try adding the following to Directory.Build.targets (I have not tested it, but it should work):
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputPath Condition="'$(BuildOutputPath)' != ''
and !$(MSBuildProjectName.EndsWith('.Test'))">$(BuildOutputPath)</OutputPath>
<OutputPath Condition="'$(TestOutputPath)' == ''
and $(MSBuildProjectName.EndsWith('.Test'))">$(TestOutputPath)</OutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>
Then invoke msbuild like so:
msbuild Complete.sln /p:TestOutputPath="$pwd\tests" /p:BuildOutputPath="$pwd\build"
There would be other options, like putting the required build or tests paths directly in the properties.

Is it possible to utilize OctoPack with the new PackageReference NuGet format?

We recently upgraded our assemblies to use the PackageReference format instead of the packages.config for our NuGet dependencies. One of the packages, OctoPack, stopped working after doing this. Is there any way to get OctoPack to work while still using the PackageReference format?
Yes, but you have to use Octo.exe pack (same process as for ASP.NET Core applications)
Yes. Recent Nuget versions will autogenerate imports for the MSBuild tasks in the obj/xxx.csproj.nuget.g.targets file.
If it doesn't...
When using packages.config, Nuget will add something like this to your csproj.
<Target Name="EnsureNuGetPackageBuildImports" BeforeTargets="PrepareForBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<ErrorText>This project references NuGet package(s) that are missing on this computer. Enable NuGet Package Restore to download them. For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=322105. The missing file is {0}.</ErrorText>
</PropertyGroup>
<Error Condition="!Exists('..\packages\OctoPack.3.6.4\build\OctoPack.targets')" Text="$([System.String]::Format('$(ErrorText)', '..\packages\OctoPack.3.6.4\build\OctoPack.targets'))" />
and
<Import Project="..\packages\OctoPack.3.6.4\build\OctoPack.targets" Condition="Exists('..\packages\OctoPack.3.6.4\build\OctoPack.targets')" />
The EnsureNuGetPackageBuildImports target is probably already there, even before.
If you add this to your csproj (or keep it, if you converted from packages.config) it will sort of still work. The problem is that packages are not stored in "..\packages".
This is easily fixed by replacing e.g "..\packages\OctoPack.3.6.4" with "$(NuGetPackageRoot)\octopack\3.6.4". Of course you need the PackageReference to octopack. It will be enough to make a restore operation put the package in $(NuGetPackageRoot).
YMMV, but it works for me, both locally and in CI (TeamCity)

.NET Core console application is not creating an EXE file

I'm trying to publish a .NET Core console application following this tutorial, but when I publish, I don't get an executable file in the PublishOutput folder (I get a DLL file). I've also read this article.
My project file looks like this:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
<TargetFramework>netcoreapp1.1</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
It seems pretty easy and straightforward, but what am I doing wrong?
Yeah, this is a weird one. I am still trying to work through it. I did find there seems to be a delay in getting the functionality from the CLI to Visual Studio 2017: This Stack Overflow article talks about that.
Also, there is ongoing confusion around exactly what Output type means since it is not what we all think. This GitHub issue talks about it.
I tried this on the Hello, World! template that Visual Studio provides. Change your .csproj file to the following:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
<PropertyGroup>
<!--<OutputType>Exe</OutputType>-->
<TargetFramework>netcoreapp1.1</TargetFramework>
<RuntimeIdentifiers>win10-x64</RuntimeIdentifiers>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
I don't think the OutputType matters more than the RuntimeIdentifiers property.
Then using the console, run dotnet restore followed by dotnet publish -c release -r win10-x64
This should generate an EXE file under \bin\Release\netcoreapp1.1\win10-x64\publish
View this article from the same person in your first link.

Overriding MSBuildExtensionsPath in the MSBuild task is flaky

This is already cross-posted at MS Connect:
https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/560451
I am attempting to override the property $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) when building a solution containing a C# web application project via msbuild. I am doing this because a web application csproj file imports the file "$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v9.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets". This file is installed by Visual Studio to the standard $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) location (C:\Program Files\MSBuild). I would like to eliminate the dependency on this file being installed on the machine (I would like to keep my build servers as "clean" as possible). In order to do this, I would like to include the Microsoft.WebApplication.targets in source control with my project, and then override $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) so that the csproj will import this included version of Microsoft.WebApplication.targets. This approach allows me to remove the dependency without requiring me to manually modify the web application csproj file.
This scheme works fine when I build my solution file from the command line, supplying the custom value of $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) at the command line to msbuild via the /p flag. However, if I attempt to build the solution using the MSBuild task in a custom msbuild project file (overriding MSBuildExtensionsPath using the "Properties" attribute), it fails because the web app csproj file is attempting to import the Microsoft.WebApplication.targets from the "standard" Microsoft.WebApplication.targets location (C:\Program Files\MSBuild). Notably, if I run msbuild using the "Exec" task in my custom project file, it works. Even more notably, the FIRST time I run the build using the "MSBuild" task AFTER I have run the build using the "EXEC" task (or directly from the command line), the build works.
Has anyone seen behavior like this before? Am I crazy? Is anyone aware of the root cause of this problem, a possible workaround, or whether this is a legitimate bug in MSBuild?
Steps to Reproduce:
1) Create a new empty solution in MSVS 2008 (Fake.sln)
2) Add a new C# web application to the solution (WebApplication1.csproj)
3) Close MSVS
4) Copy the contents of "C:\Program Files\MSBuild\" to a directory called "MSBuildExtensions" in the directory containing your solution.
5) rename the directory "C:\Program Files\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v9.0\WebApplications" so that WebApplication1.csproj will not be able to import Microsoft.WebApplication.targets from that location.
6) Create a custom MSBuild project file called "TestBuild.proj" in the same directory as the solution. It should have the following content:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" DefaultTargets="BuildMSBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\MSBuildExtensions\</MSBuildExtensionsPath>
<BuildThis>Fake.sln</BuildThis>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="BuildMSBuild">
<MSBuild Projects="$(BuildThis)" Properties="MSBuildExtensionsPath=$(MSBuildExtensionsPath);" Targets="Clean" />
<MSBuild Projects="$(BuildThis)" Properties="MSBuildExtensionsPath=$(MSBuildExtensionsPath);"/>
</Target>
</Project>
7) execute "msbuild TestBuild.proj" from a MSVS command prompt (note: the build may succeed the first time, but will fail if you run more than once)
Did you try setting the environment variable MSBuildExtensionPath in the CMD prompt and then running your build?
For example:
C:\> SET MSBuildExtensionsPath=C:\My\MSBuild\Extensons
Then on this project file:
<Project DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Target Name="Build">
<Message Text='MSBuildExtensionsPath="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)"' />
</Target>
</Project>
you will get the following output:
c:\Users\chuckeng\Desktop\ConsoleApplication1>"C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\MSBuild.exe" my.proj
Microsoft (R) Build Engine Version 3.5.30729.4926
[Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0.50727.4927]
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2007. All rights reserved.
Build started 6/25/2010 1:04:05 PM.
Project "c:\my.proj" on node 0 (default targets).
MSBuildExtensionsPath="C:\My\MSBuild\Extensons"
Done Building Project "c:\my.proj" (default targets).
Build succeeded.
0 Warning(s)
0 Error(s)
Time Elapsed 00:00:00.03
This works from v4.0 as well. Although, support is generally better in v4.0 for things like this. And, v4.0 is 100% backward compatible (bugs not withstanding). So, you can build your v3.5 and prior projects with v4.0. Just select ToolsVersion 3.5.
msbuild my.proj /tv:3.5
Hope this helps...
Chuck England
Visual Studio
Program Manager - MSBuild
This is a bug in MSBuild 3.5 but it is fixed in MSBuild 4.
If you can, switch to MSBuild 4 (you still can compile your 3.5 projects), otherwise you'll have to override the property in the project file.
It works fine if you override MSBuildExtensionsPath directly in the web app .csproj file.
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath>C:\Users\madgnome\Desktop\msbuild</MSBuildExtensionsPath>
<!-- It works too with relative path -->
<!--<MSBuildExtensionsPath>..\msbuild</MSBuildExtensionsPath>-->
</PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" />
Don't know if this might help anyone in the future, but I was able to use the following at the top of my file and it works as I would expect in both 32 and 64 bit build environments.
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath Condition=" '$(MSBuildExtensionsPath64)' != '' ">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath64)</MSBuildExtensionsPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\ExtensionPack\4.0\MSBuild.ExtensionPack.tasks"/>

How do I add an MSBuild .proj file to my solution?

Does anyone know how to add a an MSBuild .proj file to my solution?
I was just given existing code from a vendor with a solution that references an MSBuild .proj file as one of its projects. When I open the solution, the project shows as (unavailable). It appears that I need to install some sort of project template to get this project to open correctly. I installed the Codeplex MSBuild Template, but this doesn't appear to be it.
Any ideas?
If you don't need IDE support, it's possible to do this using MSBuild solution extension targets.
Create a file named "before.SolutionName.sln.targets" with the following code:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Include="CustomProject\CustomProject.proj">
<AdditionalProperties>Configuration=$(Configuration); Platform=AnyCPU</AdditionalProperties>
<Configuration>$(Configuration)</Configuration>
<Platform>AnyCPU</Platform>
</ProjectReference>
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
When your solution is built at command line by MSBuild (ie/ build server) the custom MSBuild project will be pulled into the temporary in-memory project file that MSBuild converts the solution into.
I actually got it to work! I re-started Visual Studio and still saw that the projects were unavailable after installing the MSBuild Template mentioned above. I had to manually reload the projects. That fixed the issue.