I'm trying to combine all javascript files in a project during the build process, but it just isn't working for me. Here's what I have:
<Target Name="CombineJS">
<CreateItem Include=".\**\*.js">
<Output TaskParameter="Include" ItemName="jsFilesToCombine" />
</CreateItem>
<ReadLinesFromFile File="#(jsFilesToCombine)">
<Output TaskParameter="Lines" ItemName="jsLines" />
</ReadLinesFromFile>
<WriteLinesToFile File="all.js" Lines="#(jsLines)" Overwrite="true" />
</Target>
MSBuild is throwing an error on the ReadLinesFromFile line saying there's an invalid value for the "File" parameter. (No error when there's only one file to combine)
So, two questions:
What am I doing wrong?
Is there a better way to combine files within an MSBuild task? I ask this question because I know that my current process removes all tabs and blank lines, which for me isn't that big of a deal, but still kind of annoying.
Change line 6 to:
<ReadLinesFromFile File="%(jsFilesToCombine.FullPath)">
The # operator is used when the input is ItemGroup which is essentially a semicolon-delimited list of strings.
The % operator is for expanding ItemGroups into strings (properties).
The ReadLinesFromFileTask you are using to read the files takes a single file as input to the File property (MSDN). You can't use this task to read lines from multiple files at once. You may however be able to use batching to run the task several times for each file.
Related
Note that I have already went through:
Is there a way to print a new-line when using <Message...>?
Read text file and split every line in MSBuild
But for some strange reason I can't make it work.
I have:
<ReadLinesFromFile File="$(OutputPath)myfile.log">
<Output PropertyName="FileOutput" TaskParameter="Lines" />
</ReadLinesFromFile>
<Message Text="$(FileOutput)"/>
-- This works, entire file content is shown on the screen.
Now I would like for each line in that file to report a warning/error.
<ItemGroup>
<SplitVersion Include="$(FileOutput.Split('%0A%0D'))"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Warning Text="%(SplitVersion.Identity)" />
Whatever combination I try in Split (e.g. \n, \r\n, %0A etc.) I get only one warning instead of getting one warning per line.
You are storing the lines in a property (typo maybe? Anyway I didn't even know was possible until now - it is also not mentioned in the documentation), store them in an item list instead and you'll get the lines, split already by ReadLinesFromFile so you don't have to bother with it, and after all that's the main way it is supposed to be used. Note the ItemName where you had PropertyName:
<ReadLinesFromFile File="$(OutputPath)myfile.log">
<Output ItemName="FileOutput" TaskParameter="Lines" />
</ReadLinesFromFile>
<Message Text="%(FileOutput.Identity)"/>
I'm trying to create a reusable Target in msbuild, following the basic model outlined in How to invoke the same msbuild target twice?
I'm stuck trying to pass a property that I want interpreted as a list. I haven't found an example online that deals with this situation. As I understand it, the problem is that Properties is already treated as a list item, so it doesn't like having a list item passed in as well. Is there a way to get msbuild to pack and unpack the list correctly here?
Msbuild is complaining with:
error MSB4012: The expression "FilesToZip=#(Scripts)" cannot be used in this context. Item lists cannot be concatenated with other strings where an item list is expected. Use a semicolon to separate multiple item lists.
Here's an example caller:
<Target Name="BuildMigrationZip">
<MSBuild Projects="BuildZip.msbuild"
Targets="BuildZip"
Properties="FilesToZip=#(Scripts);OutputZipFile=$(MigrationPackageFilePath);OutputFolder=$(MigrationPackagePath);Flatten=true"/>
<Message Text="Created database migration zip: $(MigrationPackageFilePath)" Importance="high"/>
</Target>
And the base target:
<Target Name="BuildZip">
<MakeDir Directories="$(OutputFolder)"/>
<Zip Files="#(FilesToZip)"
ZipFileName="$(OutputZipFile)"
Flatten="$(Flatten)"
ParallelCompression="false" />
</Target>
I'm basically at the point of just going back to cut and paste for these, although I want to package up a number of zips here.
UPDATE: The same issue applies to setting Inputs on the reusable target. My question up to this point addresses the raw functionality, but it would be nice to keep dependencies working. So for example:
<Target Name="BuildZip"
Inputs="#(FilesToZip)"
Outputs="$(OutputZipFile)">
<MakeDir Directories="$(OutputFolder)"/>
<Zip Files="#(FilesToZip)"
ZipFileName="$(OutputZipFile)"
Flatten="$(Flatten)"
ParallelCompression="false" />
</Target>
They key is to pass the list around as a property. So when your Scripts list is defined as
<ItemGroup>
<Scripts Include="A"/>
<Scripts Include="B"/>
<Scripts Include="C"/>
</ItemGroup>
then you first convert it into a property (which just makes semicolon seperated items, but msbuild knows how to pass this via the Properties of the MSBuild target) then pass it to the target:
<Target Name="BuildMigrationZip">
<PropertyGroup>
<ScriptsProperty>#(Scripts)</ScriptsProperty>
</PropertyGroup>
<MSBuild Projects="$(MSBuildThisFile)" Targets="BuildZip"
Properties="FilesToZip=$(ScriptsProperty)" />
</Target>
(note I'm using $(MSBuildThisFile) here: you don't necessarily need to create seperate build files for every single target, in fact for small targets like yours it's much more convenient to put it in the same file)
Then in your destination target you turn the property into a list again:
<Target Name="BuildZip">
<ItemGroup>
<FilesToZipList Include="$(FilesToZip)"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Message Text="BuildZip: #(FilesToZipList)" />
</Target>
Output:
BuildZip: A;B;C
Update
When working with Inputs, you cannot pass #(FilesToZip) since that expands to nothing because is not a list: it's a property - which happens to be a number of semicolon-seperated strings. And as such, it is usable for Inputs you just have to expand it as the property it is i.e. $(FilesToZip):
<Target Name="BuildZip"
Inputs="$(FilesToZip)"
Outputs="$(OutputZipFile)">
...
</Target>
Output of second run:
BuildZip:
Skipping target "BuildZip" because all output files are up-to-date with respect to the input files.
I want to write a number in a text file using WriteLinesToFile but the task is putting a line feed at the end which causes me trouble when i want to read or combine in other places
Example:
<WriteLinesToFile File="$(TextFile)" Lines="#(BuildNumber)" Overwrite="true"/>
UPDATE as the user comment below:
The problem that I had was that I was using a very simple command in Property to read the content of a file $([System.IO.File]::ReadAllText("$(TextFile)")) and I really want to use this one but it also included the line feed from WriteLinesToFiles. I ended up using similar solution like yours using ReadLinesFromFile.
There is a slight dissconnect between the title and the description. I would have liked to post this "answer" as an edit, but do not have enough reputation points :)
Do you have a problem with the newline at the end of a file, or do you have a problem ignoring that newline? Could you please clarify?
One way how I suppose you could ignore that newline follows.
This small snippet of code writes a build number to a file, then reads it out and then increments the number read by 1.
<Target Name="Messing_around">
<PropertyGroup>
<StartBuildNumber>1</StartBuildNumber>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AlsoStartBuildNumber Include="1"/>
</ItemGroup>
<!-- Use a property
<WriteLinesToFile File="$(ProjectDir)test.txt" Lines="$(StartBuildNumber)" Overwrite="true"/>
-->
<WriteLinesToFile File="$(ProjectDir)test.txt" Lines="#(AlsoStartBuildNumber)" Overwrite="true"/>
<ReadLinesFromFile File="$(ProjectDir)test.txt">
<Output
TaskParameter="Lines"
ItemName="BuildNumberInFile"/>
</ReadLinesFromFile>
<PropertyGroup>
<OldBuildNumber>#(BuildNumberInFile)</OldBuildNumber>
<NewBuildNumber>$([MSBuild]::Add($(OldBuildNumber), 1))</NewBuildNumber>
</PropertyGroup>
<Message Importance="high" Text="Stored build number: #(BuildNumberInFile)"/>
<Message Importance="high" Text="New build number: $(NewBuildNumber)"/>
</Target>
And this is what I see
Output:
1>Build started xx/xx/xxxx xx:xx:xx.
1>Messing_around:
1> Stored build number: 1
1> New build number: 2
1>
1>Build succeeded.
If you attempting to read, in an MSBuild Task, a single line containing only a number from a file with a trailing line feed, then you should not have a problem.
As a side note: With the little information at hand I'd assume that BuildNumber is an Item in an ItemGroup. If you have only one build number to deal with, perhaps Property may have been an option. But then, again, I haven't been tinkering with MSBuild for too long. So, I am open to feedback on the Item vs Property issue.
I am trying to setup some properties that I use multiple times in my MSBuild script. I have the following property section:
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildDependsOn>$(BuildDependsOn); MyAfterBuild </BuildDependsOn>
<SubstitutionsFilePath>$(ProjectDir)app.config.substitutions.xml </SubstitutionsFilePath>
<AppConfig>$(TargetPath).config</AppConfig>
<HostConfig>$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).vshost.exe.config</HostConfig>
</PropertyGroup>
When I run this I get the following error:
The expression "#(TargetPath).config" cannot be used in this context. Item lists cannot be concatenated with other strings where an item list is expected. Use a semicolon to separate multiple item lists.
I don't understand this error, as the use of the $(BuildDependsOn) and $(ProjectDir) work fine. And I know the $(TargetXXX) values generate properly as when I put them directly into the Tasks section below, they work fine.
The reason for this problem is that TargetDir is defined as an item list, not a property; presumably to cater to the scenario where your outputs are distributed amongst several output directories?
I came up against this same problem and managed to work around it by using the $(OutDir) property instead of $(TargetDir).
(The OutDir property is defined in Microsoft.Common.Targets (lines 100-102) as a normalised version of the OutputPath defined in your project file.)
First try running your build with the /v:diag option, which will output a lot more information and give you a clue as to what part of the build is failing.
A clue might be in the Microsoft.Common.targets file (located in %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727) in the PrepareForBuild target:
<!--
These CreateProperty calls are required because TargetDir and TargetPath are defined
to contain an item list. We want that item list to be expanded so that it can be used
as a regular property value and not as an item-list-with-transform.
-->
<CreateProperty Value="$(TargetDir)">
<Output TaskParameter="Value" PropertyName="TargetDir" />
</CreateProperty>
<CreateProperty Value="$(TargetPath)">
<Output TaskParameter="Value" PropertyName="TargetPath" />
</CreateProperty>
To me this looks like a bug, you can report it at https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/Search.aspx?SiteID=210.
I would like to run a task if any file in an item list is missing. How do I do that?
My current script has a list of "source" files #(MyComFiles) that I translate another list of "destination" files #(MyInteropLibs), using the following task:
<CombinePath BasePath="$(MyPath)\interop"
Paths="#(MyComFiles->'%(filename).%(extension)')">
<Output TaskParameter="CombinedPaths"
ItemName="MyInteropLibs" />
</CombinePath>
I want to check if any of the files in #(MyInteropLibs) is missing and run a task that will create them.
If you only need to create the missing files, and not get a list of the files that were missing you can you the touch task, which will create if the files don't exist.
<Touch Files="#(MyInteropLibs)" AlwaysCreate="True" />
If you only want to create the missing files, and avoid changing timestamps of the existing files, then batching can help
<Touch Files="%(MyInteropLibs.FullPath)" AlwaysCreate="True"
Condition=" ! Exists(%(MyInteropLibs.FullPath)) "/>
If you want a list of the files created then
<Touch Files="%(MyInteropLibs.FullPath)" AlwaysCreate="True"
Condition=" ! Exists(%(MyInteropLibs.FullPath)) ">
<Output TaskParameter="TouchedFiles" ItemName="CreatedFiles"/>
</Touch>
<Message Text="Created files = #(CreatedFiles)"/>
I am not very experienced with MSBuild so there may be better solutions than this but you could write a FilesExist task that takes the file list and passes each file to File.Exists returning true if they do exist and false otherwise and thenn react based on the result
Sorry I can't provide code to help out, my knowlege of MSBuild sytax is not strong
You can find out pretty easily using Exec.
To test if ALL of a set of files exists: The DOS FOR /D command accepts a semicolon-separated list of files - i.e. a flattened item array.
<!-- All exist -->
<Exec
Command="for /D %%i in (#(MyFiles)) do if not exist %%i exit 1"
IgnoreExitCode="true">
<Output TaskParameter="ExitCode" PropertyName="ExistExitCode"/>
</Exec>
To test if ANY of a set of files exists: The DOS DIR command accepts a semicolon-separated list of files. It sets the %ERRORLEVEL% to 0 if it finds any files in the list, nonzero if it finds none. (This is the simpler case, but it does not address the original question...)
<!-- Any exists -->
<Exec Command="dir /B #(MyFiles)" IgnoreExitCode="true">
<Output TaskParameter="ExitCode" PropertyName="DirExitCode"/>
</Exec>
Then most likely you will want to define a boolean property based on the output.
EDIT: BTW this is a code smell. Usually when you find yourself wanting to do this, it's an indication that you should set the Outputs property of the target so it will loop over the items.