I am using Msbuild to build my solution [We will pass the solution names instead of csproj names]. In the above picture solution folder [Configuration,Source, Tests] has few projects and 3 projects having no solution folder.
We used to obtain Buildoutputs from Msbuild task as given below
<MSBuild Projects="#(Solution)" BuildInParallel="true"
Properties="Configuration=$(Configuration);PostbuildEvent=;Version=$(BuildNextVersionNumber)"
Condition="'%(Solution.Group)' == '$(Group)' And '%(Solution.Type)' == 'DotNET' And '%(Solution.IsRebuild)'=='$(IsRebuild)'">
<Output
TaskParameter="TargetOutputs"
ItemName="BuildOutputs" />
</MSBuild>
But the assemblies produced by projects which are outside the solution folder doesn't added into Buildoutputs item.
We are solving this issue by building projects instead of sln.
Why this occurs? Is there any other easy way to rectify it?
Try to print all Solution groups using Message task to check if there is some 'root' group for the projects not included in any solution folder. Or if there is no root group, try to build it using empty group in your condition: '%(Solution.Group)' == ''
Related
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.
I'm trying to get the Output folder of referenced project in my Wix Visual Studio project, using MsBuild task. But it is failing with following error:
C:\Program Files
(x86)\MSBuild\14.0\bin\Microsoft.Common.CurrentVersion.targets(724,5):
error : The OutputPath property is not set for project
'ConsoleApplicatio n1.csproj'. Please check to make sure that you
have specified a valid combination of Configuration and Platform for
this project. Configuration='Release' Platfo rm='x86'. You may be
seeing this message because you are trying to build a project without
a solution file, and have specified a non-default Configuration or
Plat form that doesn't exist for this project.
[C:\Users\fwaheed\Documents\Visual Studio
2015\Projects\ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1.cspro
j]
Following is the Target calling MsBuild task.
<Target Name="AfterBuild">
<MSBuild
Projects="#(ProjectReference)"
Targets="GetTargetPath"
BuildInParallel="false"
Condition="'%(Name)'=='ConsoleApplication1'" >
<Output TaskParameter="TargetOutputs" ItemName="DependentAssemblies" />
</MSBuild>
</Target>
Please note that same target worked perfectly if it is CSharp project, but failing in Wix project.
Can someone guide how to get ReferencedProjects output dirs in Wix Projects?
Thanks
You can try to see how Wix does it for passing the reference values to candle on build. They're in the wix2010.targets or wix200x.targets file. Unfortunately I don't have the time to really dig into this stuff but the properties these tasks set should still exist to be used in your AfterBuild target.
Just search for "ResolveReferences" in one of those targets files.
You can also just try setting
<OutputPath>somepathhere</OutputPath>
in your csproj file since msbuild is complaining that the property isn't set.
I have a TFS 2013 build xaml workflow, that eventually calls the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Build.Workflow.Activities.MSBuild activity once for each solution that I want to build. When msbuild.exe is called, it's working directory is the working directory of the current solution being built. I can see this through the 'MSBuildStartupDirectory' property when running msbuild with a 'diagnostic' verbosity.
Unfortunately, I need the working of msbuild.exe to be somewhere else when msbuild.exe starts. This is because I use the MSBuild SonarQube runner that imposes constraints on the directory from which msbuild is called.
I have looked at the 'msbuild' activity and there is no way to control the working directory. Is there another way to control the working directory of this activity?
Its been a while since I edited a build process template but I believe you could use an activity that just executes a command in CMD and provide the full MSBuild command. I'm sure there are tons of variables you will need to setup for this to work.
Instead of editing the build process template have you considered using a PowerShell script in the Post-build script to execute SonarQube?
I still haven't found any way to control the working directory of msbuild. But since I know that the working directory will be the directory of the project being built by msbuild, I created a new proj file at the root of my workspace (where my working directory has to be) and only build this new proj file from my workflow. This new proj file then builds all my other solutions. That way, my working directory is the same for all the solutions being built.
Here is an example of my top level proj file:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" DefaultTargets="Build">
<ItemGroup>
<Solutions Include="**\*.sln"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<MSBuild Projects="#(Solutions)" Targets="Build"/>
</Target>
</Project>
But beware that doing this may affect the output directory (OutDir) given to each solution. So you may want to do something like this:
<MSBuild Projects="#(Solutions)" Targets="Build" Properties="OutDir=$(OutDir)..\%(Solutions.Filename)"/>
I am facing an issue with MSBuild I can't overcome it by myself. As a result I rely on community's wisdom.
The real situation I'm having troubles with
I have a soluiton file containing several projects with dependencies to other projects in same solution. I'd like to append a custom target to one of the project's csproj file and build it from the command line. It will allow me to make all the necessary output binaries for this project for further processing during the building of the custom target. But the main thing is that I can't figure out how to do it, googling doesn't help either.
Simplification
To make thing simplier I decided to make a new C# console project, add a simple custom target to the project's file and try to make it build. Still no success! Here what I've done so far:
Created a solution app with a default console project coreapp. This gaves me at least two files:
app.sln
coreapp\coreapp.csproj
Modified coreapp.csproj with addition of my custom target inside of the Project tag
<Target Name="SampleTarget">
<Message Text="This is a SampleTarget" />
</Target>
Run on the command line the following command
%windir%\Microsoft.NET\framework\v3.5\msbuild.exe app.sln /t:coreapp:SampleTarget
or even
%windir%\Microsoft.NET\framework\v3.5\msbuild.exe app.sln /t:coreapp.csproj:SampleTarget
Results
No luck, facing the error
MSB4057: The target "coreapp.csproj:SampleTarget" does not exist in the project.
I suspect that MSBuild thinks somehting fundamentally different from what I want it to think...
BEsides that, I also tried to set on the same command line the environment variable MSBuildEmitSolution=1 to force msbuild dump a temporary solution file it creates while processing the solution. In this file, indeed, no such target. However I guess it isn't the reason because I asked msbuild to build coreapp.proj where target SampleTarget really resides.
The question is how to build SampleTarget in this simplified scenario using solution file since potencially it can contain dependencies for the project containing this SampleTarget target?
I'd be greatful for any sort of help or firection for further investigation!
Instead of inserting a custom target in your project file, you could try creating a new standalone msbuild file, which would:
build the solution file (which builds projects)
defines your extra target
Call it app-custom-Debug.msbuild , for example.
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<PropertyGroup>
<WorkingFolder>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)</WorkingFolder>
<Configuration>Debug</Configuration>
<SolutionFile>app.sln</SolutionFile>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build" DependsOnTargets="Compile" />
<Target Name="Compile">
<Message Text="=== COMPILING $(Configuration) configuration ===" />
<MSBuild Projects="$(SolutionFile)"
Properties="Configuration=$(Configuration)" />
</Target>
<Target Name="SampleTarget">
<Message Text="This is a SampleTarget" />
</Target>
</Project>
Then you execute:
msbuild.exe app-custom-Debug.msbuild /t:SampleTarget
One option is to tie your SampleTarget to the standard Build targets via overriding the appropriate DependsOn property. In this case you could tell BeforeBuild that it DependsOn SampleTarget or you do the same thing with AfterBuild. This will ensure that MSBuild processes your target prior to the standard target indicated.
I want to inhibit the building of certain projects within a solution from building (within a TeamCity Build Configuration in order to optimize the speed of my Commit Build feedback if you must know).
I'm aware of the Solution Configurations mechanism but don't want to have to force lots of .sln files to end up with every permutation of things I want to be able to switch off. I have Convention based rule where I want to say "If I'm doing the Commit Build, I dont want to do the final installer packaging". (And I don't want to break it out into a separate solution).
I'd prefer not to use a solution involving find and replace in the .sln file or in a .proj file created via [MsBuildEmitSolution][1]. I'm aware of questions here which cover the out of the box solution and this slightly related question.
I see MSBuild /v:diag is saying:
2>Target "Build" in file "Z.sln.metaproj" from project "Z.sln" (entry point):
Using "MSBuild" task from assembly "Microsoft.Build.Tasks.v4.0, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a".
Task "MSBuild"
Global Properties:
BuildingSolutionFile=true
CurrentSolutionConfigurationContents=<SolutionConfiguration>
<ProjectConfiguration Project="{C83D035D-169B-4023-9BEE-1790C9FE22AB}" AbsolutePath="X.csproj" BuildProjectInSolution="True">Debug|AnyCPU</ProjectConfiguration>
<ProjectConfiguration Project="{15E7887D-F1DB-4D85-8454-E4EF5CBDE6D5}" AbsolutePath="Y.csproj" BuildProjectInSolution="True">Debug|AnyCPU</ProjectConfiguration>
</SolutionConfiguration>
So the question is:
Is there a neat way of me getting to do an XPath replace or similar to have the effect of changing BuildProjectInSolution="True" to BuildProjectInSolution="False" for Project Y above
Failing that, is there a relatively simple edit I can do within a .ccproj (An Azure 1.4 Package) or a .csproj (a general project) file to cause the effects (including triggering of dependent projects) of the project being enabled within a commandline msbuild Z.sln solution build to be nullified?
Not sure it qualifies as neat, but you can set CustomAfterMicrosoftCommonTargets to import an msbuild file to over-ride the BuildDependsOn property, pointing it to your own custom build task. Basically, by setting CustomAfterMicrosoftCommonTargets you get msbuild to import an msbuild file containing the following:
<PropertyGroup>
<OldBuildDependsOn>$(BuildDependsOn)</OldBuildDependsOn>
<BuildDependsOn>MyBuild</BuildDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="OldBuild" DependsOnTargets="$(OldBuildDependsOn)" />
<Target Name="MyBuild">
<CallTarget Targets="OldBuild" Condition="<IfIWantThis>" />
</Target>
Edit
You can use the following MyBuild target to Include/Exclude projects based on regular expressions passed in as IncludeInBuild and ExcludeFromBuild properties. (If you want complex regexes, you may fall foul of MSBuild special character escaping, but this works well enough for simple matching)
> msbuild /p:ExcludeFromBuild="Tests|Install|Azure"
<Target Name="MyBuild">
<CallTarget Targets="OldBuild" Condition="('$(IncludeInBuild)'=='' OR
'$([System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex]::IsMatch($(MSBuildProjectFullPath),
$(IncludeInBuild),
System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase))'=='True') AND
('$(ExcludeFromBuild)'=='' OR
'$([System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex]::IsMatch($(MSBuildProjectFullPath),
$(ExcludeFromBuild),
System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase))'=='False')" />
</Target>
You could always pass the particular projects you want to build as parameters to the MSBuild.
The MSBuild command line would look like this:
MSBuild /t:<Project Name>:Rebuild;<Another Project Name>:Rebuild
In TeamCity, you would put <Project Name>:<Target Action> in the target field in the MSBuild runner.
I add a system parameter under Parameters
Name: system.ExcludeFromBuild
Kind: System property (system.)
Value: path to your csproj