MSBuild: transform paths to namespaces - msbuild

I have list of items like this:
<ItemGroup>
<ToCompile Include="clojure\core.clj;clojure\set.clj;clojure\zip.clj;clojure\test\junit.clj;"/>
</ItemGroup>
And I want to transform that to a list of items like this:
clojure.core clojure.set clojure.zip clojure.test.junit
Is there a way to do this with MSBuild transforms? I tried but I can only get at the file name; the extension and the root path, and I can change the separator. But not the path separators.
If not, any other solution that avoids using custom tasks is appreciated.

We can do it easily with fewer cheese:
<Message
Text="$([System.String]::Copy('%(ToCompile.Identity)').Replace('.clj','').Replace('\','.'))"/>

This is a bit cheesy, but it works in MSBuild 4.0+.
<Target Name="Namespaces">
<PropertyGroup>
<Cheesy>#(ToCompile -> '%(relativedir)%(filename)', ' ')</Cheesy>
</PropertyGroup>
<Message Text="$(Cheesy.Replace(`\`, `.`))" />
</Target>

Related

Get wildcard reference in csproj node

Take the following example:
<EmbeddedResource Include="Resources\files\main-*.png">
<LogicalName>Images\main\???.resources</LogicalName>
</EmbeddedResource>
How can I get the part from "*" inside a child of a node? I have found %Filename%, but that's too much.
It is possible, but requires some property functions kung fu.
<Project>
<!--
Create files:
Resources\files\main-foo.png
Resources\files\main-bar.png
Run:
MSBuild.exe foo.proj /t:Test
Output:
LogicalName: Images\main\foo.resources
LogicalName: Images\main\bar.resources
-->
<ItemGroup>
<EmbeddedResource Include="Resources\files\main-*.png">
<_DashPosition>$([System.String]::Copy('%(FileName)').IndexOf('-'))</_DashPosition>
<_LogicalNameStart>$([MSBuild]::Add(%(_DashPosition), 1))</_LogicalNameStart>
<LogicalName>Images\main\$([System.String]::Copy('%(FileName)').Substring(%(_LogicalNameStart))).resources</LogicalName>
</EmbeddedResource>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Test">
<Message Text="LogicalName: %(EmbeddedResource.LogicalName)" Importance="high"/>
</Target>
</Project>
The general approach is like it would be in C# or other language. Find the delimiter (here - in the filename) and take everything after that as LogicalName.
Note that I used "temporary" item metadata (the '_' is just a convention here) to keep things a little more clear. In theory, you could cramp all into the <LogicalName> itself.

Can a task ItemGroup glob files?

I have an ItemGroup declared as follows:
<ItemGroup>
<MyCustomProjectType Include="..\path_to_my_project">
<Name>MyProjectName</Name>
</MyCustomProjectType>
</ItemGroup>
This is a custom project type that I want to perform some specific manipulations on.
Later I have a Target (example only but it communicates what I am after):
<Target Name="MyTarget">
<ItemGroup>
<CustomProjectReferenceFiles
KeepMetadata="Name"
Include="#(MyCustomProjectType->'%(Identity)\%(Name)\**\*')"
Exclude="**\*.x;**\*.y"
/>
</ItemGroup>
<Message Text="#(CustomProjectReferenceFiles)" />
</Target>
So I have a Target based ItemGroup where I am attempting, using a transform, to create a new Include. This does run, but it appears the Include is literally set to:
..\path_to_my_project\MyProjectName\**\*
AKA that glob/wildcards are not expanded.
I'm pretty new to MSBuild so maybe I am missing something in my search of the documentation. One solution I thought of here would be just just create a new Custom Task that handles pulling out the files I need and setting that Output on an intermediate Target.
I also found this SO question:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/3398872/1060314
Which brings up the point about CreateItem being deprecated which leaves me with not knowing what the alternatives are.
The easiest way is to use an intermediate property so that the actual text is used and not the escaped transformed items:
<PropertyGroup>
<_CustomProjectReferenceFileIncludes>#(MyCustomProjectType->'%(Identity)\%(Name)\**\*')</_CustomProjectReferenceFileIncludes>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<CustomProjectReferenceFiles
KeepMetadata="Name"
Include="$(_CustomProjectReferenceFileIncludes)"
Exclude="**\*.x;**\*.y"
/>
</ItemGroup>

Using the Zip task in MSBuild

I have been attempting to use the zip task of msbuild in a project I am working on at the moment.
My project file looks something like this:
<PropertyGroup> <MSBuildCommunityTasksPath>$(SolutionDir)\.build</MSBuildCommunityTasksPath> </PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildCommunityTasksPath)\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets" />
<ItemGroup>
<FileToZip include="C:\FilePath"></FilesToZip>
<FileToZip include="C:\FilePath"></FilesToZip>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="BeforeBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<ReleasePath>\releasepath</ReleasePath>
<Zip Files="#(FilesToZip)" WorkingDirectory="$(ReleasePath)" ZipFileName="HTMLeditor.html" ZipLevel="9" />
</Target>
However, the zip file updates but does not contain the files specified in the item group FilesToZip. I cannot figure out why they aren't being recognised! I have double checked file paths and they are correct. Any ideas?
I think you want to do something like this:
<ItemGroup>
<FileToZip include="C:\FilePath;C:\FilePath"/>
</ItemGroup>
As I mentioned in my comment, simply creating a variable (FileToZip) and repeating it twice with different values does not give you an array that contains both of the values. You end up with only the last value (and not an array at all). Your include attribute is a selector which is used to build the array and it can contain multiple values, wildcards and other patterns which are used to build out that array for you.
Here's a link to MSDN that gives you more information on how to use the Include attribute: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171454.aspx
I ditched the ItemGroup in the end, and went with another way of doing it.
<Target Name="Zip">
<CreateItem Include="FilesToInclude" >
<Output ItemName="ZipFiles" TaskParameter="Include"/>
<Zip ZipFileName="ZipFile.zip" WorkingDirectory="FolderToWriteZipTo" Files="#(ZipFiles)" />
</Target>
This method seemed to be easier and wasn't adding files to the root of the file.
Thanks for the help though guys.

Including files with directory specified separately in MSBuild

This seems like it should be simple but I can't work it out from the reference and my google-fu is apparently weak.
I just want to specify the file names and base folder separately in the build file...
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<PropertyGroup>
<TestFilesWithFolder>
B:\Root\Test1.*;
B:\Root\Test2.*
</TestFilesWithFolder>
<TestFiles>Test1.*;Test2.*</TestFiles>
<TestFileRoot>B:\Root</TestFileRoot>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<ItemGroup>
<TestFilesGroupWithFolder Include="$(TestFilesWithFolder)" />
<TestFilesGroup Include="$(TestFileRoot)\$(TestFiles)" />
</ItemGroup>
<Warning Text="Source files with folder: #(TestFilesGroupWithFolder)" />
<Warning Text="Source files: #(TestFilesGroup)" />
</Target>
</Project>
When I run this, the first warning shows both files as expected, but the second warning only shows the first file (since the straight string concat put the folder name on the first but not second).
How would I get the ItemGroup "TestFilesGroup" to include both the files given the "TestFiles" and "TestFileRoot" properties?
It is possible to convert a semicolon delimited list of things into an item, which would make this possible, except that the items in your property contain wildcards, so if you want to have MSBuild treat them as items in a list, at the moment MSBuild first sees it the path must be valid. There may be a way to do that but I can't think of one. In other words...
<ItemGroup>
<TestFiles Include="$(TestFiles)" />
</ItemGroup>
...only works if $(TestFiles) contains a delimited list of either things with no wildcards, or qualified paths that actually exist.
Further, MSBuild can't compose a path with a wildcard inside the Include attribute and evaluate it at the same time, so you need a trick to first compose the full path separately, then feed it into the Include attribute. The following will work, but it requires changing your delimited property into a set of items. It batches a dependent target on this item list, with each batched target execution calculating a meta value for one item, which is stored off in a new meta value. When the original target executes, it is able to use that meta value in a subsequent Include.
<PropertyGroup>
<TestFilesWithFolder>
D:\Code\Test1.*;
D:\Code\Test2.*
</TestFilesWithFolder>
<TestFileRoot>D:\Code</TestFileRoot>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<TestFilePattern Include="TestFilePattern">
<Pattern>Test1.*</Pattern>
</TestFilePattern>
<TestFilePattern Include="TestFilePattern">
<Pattern>Test2.*</Pattern>
</TestFilePattern>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Compose" Outputs="%(TestFilePattern.Pattern)">
<ItemGroup>
<TestFilePattern Include="TestFilePattern">
<ComposedPath>#(TestFilePattern->'$(TestFileRoot)\%(Pattern)')</ComposedPath>
</TestFilePattern>
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
<Target Name="Build" DependsOnTargets="Compose">
<ItemGroup>
<TestFilesGroupWithFolder Include="$(TestFilesWithFolder)" />
</ItemGroup>
<Warning Text="Source files with folder: #(TestFilesGroupWithFolder)" />
<ItemGroup>
<ComposedTestFiles Include="%(TestFilePattern.ComposedPath)" />
</ItemGroup>
<Warning Text="Source files: #(ComposedTestFiles)" />
</Target>
Which produces the following output:
(Build target) ->
d:\Code\My.proj(80,5): warning : Source files with folder:
D:\Code\Test1.txt;D:\Code\Test2.txt
d:\Code\My.proj(84,5): warning : Source files:
D:\Code\Test1.txt;D:\Code\Test2.txt

MSBuild getting property substring before underscore symbol

In MSBuild I have a property which value is Name_Something. How can I get name part of this property.
With MSBuild 4
If you use MSBuild 4, you could use the new and shiny property functions.
<PropertyGroup>
<MyProperty>Name_Something</MyProperty>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="SubString">
<PropertyGroup>
<PropertyName>$(MyProperty.Substring(0, $(MyProperty.IndexOf('_'))))</PropertyName>
</PropertyGroup>
<Message Text="PropertyName: $(PropertyName)"/>
</Target>
With MSBuild < 4
You could use the RegexReplace task of MSBuild Community Task
<PropertyGroup>
<MyProperty>Name_Something</MyProperty>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="RegexReplace">
<RegexReplace Input="$(MyProperty)" Expression="_.*" Replacement="" Count="1">
<Output ItemName ="PropertyNameRegex" TaskParameter="Output" />
</RegexReplace>
<Message Text="PropertyNameRegex: #(PropertyNameRegex)"/>
</Target>
If I understand your question correctly you are trying to get the substring of a MSBuild property. There is no direct way to do string manipulation in MSBuild, like in NAnt. So you have two options:
1). Create separate variables for each part and combine them:
<PropertyGroup>
<Name>Name</Name>
<Something>Something</Something>
<Combined>$(Name)_$(Something)</Combined>
</PropertyGroup>
This works fine if the parts are known before hand, but not if you need to do this dynamically.
2). Write a customer MSBuild task that does the string manipulation. This would be your only option if it needed to done at runtime.
It looks like you could use Item MetaData instead of a Property:
<ItemGroup>
<Something Include="SomeValue">
<Name>YourName</Name>
<SecondName>Foo</SecondName>
</Something>
</ItemGroup>