Retrieving Assembly Version information for multiple DLLs in MSbuild - msbuild

I am fairly comfortable with writing assembly version information for a given project that will output as a DLL.
However what I am looking to do now is to go through each DLL in a \Bin folder, retrieve the Assembly information and write it to a versions.txt file.
Has anyone managed to acheive a similar goal?

You can to that using WriteVersionToFile MSBuild target defined below :
<PropertyGroup>
<VersionsFile>versions.txt</VersionsFile>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<!-- Assemblies for which you want versions-->
<AssemblyFiles Include="Bin\**\*.dll"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="ExtractVersions">
<GetAssemblyIdentity AssemblyFiles="#(AssemblyFiles)">
<Output TaskParameter="Assemblies" ItemName="MyAssemblyIdentities"/>
</GetAssemblyIdentity>
<Message Text="%(MyAssemblyIdentities.Name) - Version %(Version)"/>
</Target>
<Target Name="WriteVersionToFile" DependsOnTargets="ExtractVersions">
<Delete Files="$(VersionsFile)" />
<WriteLinesToFile File="$(VersionsFile)"
Lines="%(MyAssemblyIdentities.Name) - %(Version)"
Overwrite="false"
Encoding="Unicode"/>
</Target>
Output file versions.txt will look like that :
ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib - 0.85.4.369
nunit.framework - 2.4.7.0
Test.Rules - 0.2.0.0

Related

Add .dll reference to nuget that is generated before build

I'm deploying a MsBuild task using nuget, that generates a .dll before each build.
I fail to get the generated dll referenced in the References node in the Visual Studio project of consumers.
I'm also using MSBuild to build the .nupkg file. Generating and compiling works just fine, I deploy the following target in the build/directory
<Project>
<!-- this will automatically run before the 'Build' target -->
<Target Name="GenerateAndBuild" BeforeTargets="Build">
<!--the deployed task that generates the code-->
<Utils.CreateUtilResourceTask/>
<ItemGroup>
<CompileGeneratedSources Include="GeneratedClass.cs" />
</ItemGroup>
<MakeDir Directories="$(OutputPath)" Condition="!Exists('$(OutputPath)')" />
<Csc Sources="#(CompileGeneratedSources )" OutputAssembly="$(OutputPath)Util.dll" TargetType="library" EmitDebugInformation="true" />
<Delete Files="#(CompileGeneratedSources )" />
</Target>
</Project>
That generates the util.dll in the project output folder but I fail to get it referenced in the consuming project.
I thought that this would work in the .csproj file:
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFrameworks>netstandard1.6;net46</TargetFrameworks>
<BuildOutputTargetFolder>tasks</BuildOutputTargetFolder>
<VersionPrefix>0.1.1</VersionPrefix>
<GeneratePackageOnBuild>true</GeneratePackageOnBuild>
<PackageOutputPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)</PackageOutputPath>
<PackageId>BuildUtil</PackageId>
<!-- that does not add a refenrece in consuming projects -->
<references>
<reference file="$(OutputPath)Util.dll"/>
</references>
<files>
<file src="$(OutputPath)Util.dll"/>
</files>
</PropertyGroup>
Perhaps someone has a hint on that?
You need to declare the assembly reference in an ItemGroup, not a PropertyGroup. For example:
<ItemGroup>
<Reference Include="$(OutputPath)Util.dll" />
</ItemGroup>

MSBUILD Unable to force PackageLocation for Package target

I'm trying to build a deployment package for my web service from msbuild just like you can do in Visual Studio by right-clicking on the project file.
The package gets created fine and is put in the /obj/Release/Packages folder under my source directory for the project file.
You should be able to specify where that package is created by setting the PackageLocation property in a PropertyGroup inside the project file. However, that is not working for me. It still puts the package in /obj/Release/Packages under the source directory.
Here is the snippet from my project file:
<Import Project="$(SrcTreeRoot)\Build\TaskInit.Tasks" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" />
<Import Project="$(SrcTreeRoot)\Build\TaskOverrides.Tasks" />
<PropertyGroup>
<Platform>Any Cpu</Platform>
<Configuration>Dev</Configuration>
<PackageLocation>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\MatrixOnCdsService.zip</PackageLocation>
<PackageAsSingleFile>True</PackageAsSingleFile>
<EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>True</EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>
<!--OutDir>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\</OutDir-->
</PropertyGroup>
We are also using a MasterBuild.proj that has the following sections:
<PackageProject Include="..\Source\AnalysisSuite\MatrixOnCdsService\MatrixOnCdsService.csproj"/>
...
<Target Name="Package">
<MSBuild Projects="#(PackageProject)" Targets="Package" Properties="Platform=$(Platform);
Configuration=$(Configuration);
DeployOnBuild=true;
DeployTarget=Package;
PackageLocation=$(PackageLocation);"/>
</Target>
TaskInit.tasks is our own custom import file that contains the PackageOutputDir property that we use to tell the project where to put the package.
My question is why is the package still being placed in the /obj/Release/Packages folder even after specifying the PackageLocation?
Stick the property group you have in a target:
<Target Name="SetValues">
<PropertyGroup>
<Platform>Any Cpu</Platform>
<Configuration>Dev</Configuration>
<PackageLocation>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\MatrixOnCdsService.zip</PackageLocation>
<PackageAsSingleFile>True</PackageAsSingleFile>
<EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>True</EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>
<!--OutDir>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\</OutDir-->
</PropertyGroup>
</Target>
then add this as a DependsOnTarget for your Package Target and i think you will have your values passed.
e.g. <Target Name="Package" DependsOnTargets="SetValues">
You could do the following in your MasterBuild.proj.
<Target Name="Package">
<ConvertToAbsolutePath Paths="$(PackageOutputDir)">
<Output TaskParameter="AbsolutePaths" PropertyName="Source_Dir_Abs"/>
</ConvertToAbsolutePath>
<MSBuild Projects="#(PackageProject)" Targets="Package"
properties="Platform=$(Platform);
Configuration=$(Configuration);
DeployOnBuild=false;
DeployTarget=Package;
PackageLocation=$(Source_Dir_Abs)\$(PackageProjectName).zip;
PackageAsSingleFile=true;
ExcludeFilesFromDeployment=Web.config;
_PackageTempDir=$(PackageOutputDir)\temp;">
</MSBuild>
</Target>
Where you are calling msbuild you will need to add a property that will be used in $(PackageProjectName) by doing the following:
msbuild.exe /property:PackageProjectName=$project

Additional paths in msbuild script

How to specify additional assembly reference paths for the MSBuild tasks?
I have following script so far, but can't figure out how to specify additional search paths.
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectsToBuild Include="..\Main\Main.sln" />
</ItemGroup>
<!-- The follwing paths should be added to reference search paths for the build tasks -->
<ItemGroup>
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib1" />
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib2" />
</ItemGroup>
<MSBuild
Projects="#(ProjectsToBuild)"
Properties="Configuration=Debug;OutputPath=$(BuildOutputPath)">
</MSBuild>
UPDATE:
Please show one complete working script which invokes original project, such as an SLN with multiple additional reference paths.
No suggestions on how to improve the project structure please.
I know how to build a good structure, but now it's the task of building an existing piece of crap.
I have finaly figured out how to do it:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectsToBuild Include="ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AdditionalReferencePaths Include="..\Build\ClassLibrary1" />
<AdditionalReferencePaths Include="..\Build\ClassLibrary2" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildOutputPath>..\Build\ConsoleApplication1</BuildOutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="MainBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<AdditionalReferencePathsProp>#(AdditionalReferencePaths)</AdditionalReferencePathsProp>
</PropertyGroup>
<MSBuild
Projects="ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1.csproj"
Properties="ReferencePath=$(AdditionalReferencePathsProp);OutputPath=$(BuildOutputPath)"
>
</MSBuild>
</Target>
The property you want to modify is AssemblySearchPaths. See the ResolveAssemblyReference task more information.
<Target Name="AddToSearchPaths">
<CreateProperty Value="x:\path\to\assemblies;$(AssemblySearchPaths)">
<Output PropertyName="AssemblySearchPaths" TaskParameter="Value" />
</CreateProperty>
</Target>
Making use of item groups, as in your example, it would look like:
<Target Name="AddToSearchPaths">
<CreateProperty Value="#(MyAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)">
<Output PropertyName="AssemblySearchPaths" TaskParameter="Value" />
</CreateProperty>
</Target>
Looking in %WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\Microsoft.Common.targets, you can see that the ResolveAssemblyReference Task is executed as part of the ResolveAssemblyReferences target. Thus, you want the newly added target to modify the AssemblySearchPaths property before ResolveAssemblyReferences is executed.
You've stated that you want to be able to modify the assembly search paths without modifying the project files directly. In order to accomplish that requirement you need to set an environment variable that will override the AssemblySearchPaths. With this technique you will need to provide every assembly reference path used by all the projects in the solutions. (Modifying the projects or copies of the projects would be easier. See final comments.)
One technique is to create a batch file that runs your script at sets the environment variable:
set AssemblySearchPaths="C:\Tacos;C:\Burritos;C:\Chalupas"
msbuild whatever.msbuild
Another way is to define a PropertyGroup in your custom msbuild file (otherwise known as the "hook" needed to make this work):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectsToBuild Include="..\Main\Main.sln" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<AssemblySearchPaths>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib1;$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib2</AssemblySearchPaths>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<MSBuild Projects="#(ProjectsToBuild)" Properties="AssemblySearchPaths=$(AssemblySearchPaths);Configuration=Debug;OutputPath=$(OutputPath)" />
</Target>
</Project>
Now if it were me, and for whatever unexplained reason I couldn't modify the project files to include the updated references that I am going to build with, I would make copies of the project files, load them into the IDE, and correct the references in my copies. Synching the projects becomes a simple diff/merge operation which is automatic with modern tools like mercurial (heck I'm sure clearcase could manage it too).
...and remember that you don't need to use a target for this, you can use project-scoped properties or items, as...
<ItemGroup>
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib1" />
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib2" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<MyAddRefPath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib3</MyAddRefPath>
<!-- add in the property path -->
<AssemblySearchPaths>$(MyAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)</AssemblySearchPaths>
<!-- add in the item paths -->
<AssemblySearchPaths>#(MyAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)</AssemblySearchPaths>
</PropertyGroup>
...and if you do need to do this in a target to pick up paths from a dynamically populated item group, use inline properties, not the CreateProperty task (if you are not stuck in v2.0)
<Target Name="AddToSearchPaths">
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- add in the item paths -->
<AssemblySearchPaths>#(MyDynamicAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)</AssemblySearchPaths>
</PropertyGroup>
</Target>

How can I change AssemblyProduct, AssemblyTitle using MSBuild?

I have an MSBuild script which compiles my existing solution but I'd like to change some properties of one of the projects within the solution at compile-time, including but not limited to AssemblyProduct and AssemblyTitle.
Here's a snippet of my build script:
<Target Name="Compile" >
<MSBuild Projects="..\MySolution.sln"
Properties="Configuration=MyReleaseConfig;Platform=x86" />
</Target>
I've got one main executable and several DLLs that are compiled. I am aware of the MSBuild Extension Pack and I suspect it might help me to get to where I need to be, although I'm not sure how to proceed.
Can I selectively change AssemblyInfo properties at build time?
You're on the right track with the MSBuild Extension Pack.
I find the easiest way to conditionally generate the assembly details at build time is to add an "AssemblyVersion" target directly to my .csproj file(s) that require an updated AssemblyInfo file. You can add the target directly to each csproj file that requires an updated AssemblyInfo file, or as I prefer to do it, create a custom targets file with the AssemblyVersion target and have each csproj file include your custom targets file.
Either way you likely want to use the MSBuild Extension Pack or the MSBuild Community Tasks to use their respective AssemblyInfo task.
Here's some code from our build scripts:
<!-- Import the AssemblyInfo task -->
<Import Project="$(MSBuildCommunityTasksPath)\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets"/>
<!-- Overriding the Microsoft.CSharp.targets target dependency chain -->
<!-- Call our custom AssemblyVersion target before build, even from VS -->
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildDependsOn>
AssemblyVersion;
$(BuildDependsOn)
</BuildDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AssemblyVersionFiles Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="AssemblyVersion"
Inputs="#(AssemblyVersionFiles)"
Outputs="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles">
<Attrib Files="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)"
Normal="true"/>
<AssemblyInfo
CodeLanguage="CS"
OutputFile="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)"
AssemblyCompany="$(CompanyName)"
AssemblyCopyright="Copyright $(CompanyName), All rights reserved."
AssemblyVersion="$(Version)"
AssemblyFileVersion="$(Version)">
<Output TaskParameter="OutputFile"
ItemName="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles"/>
</AssemblyInfo>
</Target>
Sneal's answer was very helpful, but I'd like to show what I actually ended up doing. Instead of editing csproj files (there are several) I instead added tasks to my build script. Here's a snippet:
<PropertyGroup>
<ProductName>MyApp</ProductName>
<CompanyName>MyCompany</CompanyName>
<Major>1</Major>
<Minor>0</Minor>
<Build>0</Build>
<Revision>0</Revision>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AssemblyVersionFiles Include="..\MyMainProject\Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="AssemblyVersionMAIN" Inputs="#(AssemblyVersionFiles)" Outputs="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles">
<Attrib Files="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)" Normal="true"/>
<AssemblyInfo
CodeLanguage="CS"
OutputFile="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)"
AssemblyProduct="$(ProductName)"
AssemblyTitle="$(ProductName)"
AssemblyCompany="$(CompanyName)"
AssemblyCopyright="© $(CompanyName) 2010"
AssemblyVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)"
AssemblyFileVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)"
AssemblyInformationalVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)">
<Output TaskParameter="OutputFile" ItemName="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles"/>
</AssemblyInfo>
</Target>
<Target Name="Compile" DependsOnTargets="AssemblyVersionMAIN">
<MSBuild Projects="..\MySolution.sln"
Properties="Configuration=Release;Platform=x86;Optimize=true" />
</Target>
Then, I can override my variables from the command line, or a batch script, like so:
set MAJ=1
set MIN=2
set BLD=3
set REV=4
msbuild buildScript.xml /t:Compile /p:Major=%MAJ% /p:Minor=%MIN% /p:Build=%BLD% /p:Revision=%REV%
<Target Name="SetVersion">
<ItemGroup>
<AssemblyInfoFiles Include="$(TargetDir)\**\AssemblyInfo.cs"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Message Text="change the Version number for:"/>
<Message Text="%(AssemblyInfoFiles.FullPath)"/>
<MSbuild.ExtensionPack.Framework.AssemblyInfo
AssemblyInfoFiles="#(AssemblyInfoFiles)"
AssemblyTitle="newTitle"
AssemblyMajorVersion="2"
AssemblyMinorVersion="0"/>
</Target>

Updating Assembly information with MSBuild failing

All
i am trying to automatically update the assembly information of a project using AssemblyInfo task, before build however the target appears to do nothing (no failure/error) just no update/creation
Below is the build.proj file I am using (obviously some contents altered)
Can anyone help?
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project DefaultTargets="Build"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\MSBuildCommunityTasks\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets"/>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\AssemblyInfoTask\Microsoft.VersionNumber.targets"/>
<PropertyGroup>
<Major>1</Major>
<Minor>0</Minor>
<Build>0</Build>
<Revision>0</Revision>
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildDir>C:\svn\Infrastructure</BuildDir>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<SolutionsToBuild Include="Infrastructure.sln"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Build" DependsOnTargets="ChangeDataAccessAssemblyInfo">
<RemoveDir Directories="$(BuildDir)\Builds" Condition="Exists('$(BuildDir)\Builds')" />
<MSBuild Projects="#(SolutionsToBuild)" Properties="Configuration=Debug" Targets="Rebuild" />
</Target>
<ItemGroup>
<TestAssemblies Include="Build\Logging\Logging.UnitTests.dll" />
</ItemGroup>
<!--<UsingTask TaskName="NUnit" AssemblyFile="$(teamcity_dotnet_nunitlauncher_msbuild_task)" />
<Target Name="Test" DependsOnTargets="Build">
<NUnit NUnitVersion="NUnit-2.4.6" Assemblies="#(TestAssemblies)" />
</Target>-->
<Target Name="ChangeDataAccessAssemblyInfo" >
<Message Text="Writing ChangeDataAccessAssemblyInfo file for 1"/>
<Message Text="Will update $(BuildDir)\DataAccess\My Project\AssemblyInfo.vb" />
<AssemblyInfo CodeLanguage="VB"
OutputFile="$(BuildDir)\DataAccess\My Project\AssemblyInfo_new.vb"
AssemblyTitle="Data Access Layer"
AssemblyDescription="Message1"
AssemblyCompany="http://somewebiste"
AssemblyProduct="the project"
AssemblyCopyright="Copyright notice"
ComVisible="true"
CLSCompliant="true"
Guid="hjhjhkoi-9898989"
AssemblyVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).1.1"
AssemblyFileVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).5.7"
Condition="$(Revision) != '0' "
ContinueOnError="false" />
<Message Text="Updated Assembly File Info"
ContinueOnError="false"/>
</Target>
</Project>
I think you are missing the specification of the AssemblyInfoFiles attribute on your AssemblyInfo task. Here's how it looks on a project I'm working on...
<Target Name="AfterGet">
<Message Text="In After Get"/>
<CreateItem Include="$(SolutionRoot)\Source\SomeProject\My Project\AssemblyInfo.vb">
<Output ItemName="AssemblyInfoFiles" TaskParameter="Include"/>
</CreateItem>
<Attrib Files="#(AssemblyInfoFiles)"
ReadOnly="false"/>
<AssemblyInfo AssemblyInfoFiles="#(AssemblyInfoFiles)"
AssemblyDescription="$(LabelName)">
</AssemblyInfo>
</Target>
What we're doing is first using to create a property that contains the name of the file we'll be updating. We have to do this via createItem because when we start the build the file doesn't exist (and that is when MSBuild evaluates the and definitions in your build file.
We then take the readonly bit off the file.
Finally we invoke the AssemblyInfo task passing it the file(s) to update and a custom assembly name that we want to give it (in this case we put the TFS build label into the Assembly Description field so that we can easily tell which team build the assembly came from.