MSBuild Command Line arguments length exceeds 8191 characters - msbuild

Question

I are using MSBUILD.exe to perform build for the application. as part of this I pass the required variables as command line arguments for MSBUILD.exe.
I have 2 files. service.xml and MyService.proj. Below line is present in service.xml file.
<installCommand name="MyService" cmd="msbuild.exe "MyService.proj" /p:{vairables}">
initially the length of the command was small and everything was fine as I was able to build my project but as the project size increased the number of parameters also increased, and now I am at a stage where the command line is displaying an error (Input line is too Long).
Upon some searching I found out that command line cannot be more than 8191 characters.
Can any one Suggest any alternatives for this.

Answer 1

What's installCommand?
MSBuild engine merges all system, user and process variables as well as parameters and properties into one big pool, so every property that you pass via {vairables} can be set first separatly. Keep in mind that properties pass via command line are global properties so environment variable equivalent will not override corresponding project property unless it has Condition=" '$(Foo)' == '' " on it.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171458.aspx

Answer 2

You can set variables in an xml file, and pass the xml file-name to the msbuild script.
Here is a simple example that uses the MSBuildCommunityTasks.
Parameters.xml (contents below)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<parameters>
<setParameter name="LineNumber1" value="PeanutsAreCool" />
<setParameter name="LineNumber2" value="" />
</parameters>
MyMsbuildDef.proj (contents below)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" DefaultTargets="AllTargetsWrapped">
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\MSBuildCommunityTasks\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets" />
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- Always declare some kind of "base directory" and then work off of that in the majority of cases -->
<WorkingCheckout>.</WorkingCheckout>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="AllTargetsWrapped">
<CallTarget Targets="ReadXmlPeekValue" />
<CallTarget Targets="WriteXmlPeekValue" />
</Target>
<Target Name="ReadXmlPeekValue">
<!-- you do not need a namespace for this example, but I left it in for future reference -->
<XmlPeek Namespaces="<Namespace Prefix='peanutNamespace' Uri='http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003'/>"
XmlInputPath=".\Parameters.xml"
Query="/parameters/setParameter[#name='LineNumber1']/#value">
<Output TaskParameter="Result" ItemName="Peeked" />
</XmlPeek>
<Message Text="#(Peeked)"/>
<XmlPeek Namespaces="<Namespace Prefix='peanutNamespace' Uri='http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003'/>"
XmlInputPath=".\Parameters.xml"
Query="/parameters/setParameter[#name='LineNumber1']/#value">
<Output TaskParameter="Result" PropertyName="PeekedSingle" />
</XmlPeek>
<Message Text="PeekedSingle = $(PeekedSingle) "/>
</Target>
<Target Name="WriteXmlPeekValue" Condition=" '$(PeekedSingle)' != '' ">
<XmlPoke Namespaces="<Namespace Prefix='msb' Uri='http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003'/>"
XmlInputPath=".\Parameters.xml"
Query="/parameters/setParameter[#name='LineNumber2']/#value"
Value="$(PeekedSingle)" />
</Target>
</Project>
MyBatFile.bat (contents below)
set msBuildDir=%WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319
call %msBuildDir%\msbuild /target:AllTargetsWrapped "MyMsbuildDef.proj" /p:Configuration=Debug;FavoriteFood=Popeyes /l:FileLogger,Microsoft.Build.Engine;logfile=ZZZZZAllTargetsWrapped.log
set msBuildDir=