MSBuild
Properties are key/values pairs used to configure builds. A property value can be changed by re-defining the property.
<PropertyGroup> <Prop1>PropValue</Prop1> <Prop2 Condition=" '$(Prop2)' == '' ">NewValue</Prop2> </PropertyGroup>
Items are inputs into the build system. 'MyItem' is the item type (or item name).
<ItemGroup> <MyItem Include="file1.txt" /> <MyItem Include="file2.txt" /> </ItemGroup>
Tasks are units of executable code. The logic of a task is mapped to MSBuild with the <UsingTask> element.
<PropertyGroup> <Dir>MyDirectory</Dir> </PropertyGroup> <Target Name="MyTargetCreateDir"> <MakeDir Directories="$(Dir)" /> </Target>
Targets group tasks together in a particular order and expose sections of a proj file as entry points.
<ItemGroup> <File>File1.cs</File> <File>File2.cs</File> <File>File3.cs</File> </ItemGroup> <Target Name="MyTargetCompile"> <Csc Sources="@(File)" /> </Target>
Creating properties - Properties outside of Target are assigned during the evaluation phase of a build. During the execution phase, properties can be created or modified as follows:
- Emit a property using any Task: <Task><Output PropertyName=“…” … /></Task>
- Embed a PropertyGroup in a Target: <Target><PropertyGroup>…</PropertyGroup></Target>
- (depreciated) Use the CreateProperty task.
| Element | Reference | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Property | $(PropName) | - used to pass values to tasks - used to evaluate conditions - used to store values in a proj file |
| Environment Variable | $(Path) or $(PATH) | - property names are not case sensitive - values of environment variables are set at the beginning of a build and are not modified |
| Items | @(ItemType) | - a parameter for a task - the task uses individual items |
| Case-sensitive | Not case-sensitive |
|---|---|
| - Element Name - Attribute Name | - Property Name - Item Type - Metadata Name |
Example: .NET Core app:
<PropertyGroup> <OutputType>Exe</OutputType> <TargetFramework>netcoreapp2.0</TargetFramework> </PropertyGroup>
Example: Include files and references:
<ItemGroup> <Compile Include="**\*.cs" /> <EmbeddedResources Include="**\*.resx /> </ItemGroup> <ItemGroup> <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NETCore.App" Version="1.0.1" /> </ItemGroup>
Example: Default property values:
<PropertyGroup> <RestoreSuccess Condition=" '$(RestoreSuccess)' == '' ">True</RestoreSuccess> <RestoreTool Condition=" '$(RestoreTool)' == '' ">NuGet</RestoreTool> <NuGetPackageRoot Condition=" '$(NuGetPackageRoot)' == '' ">$(UserProfile)\.nuget\packages\</NuGetPackageRoot> <NuGetProjectStyle Condition=" '$(NuGetProjectStyle)' == '' ">PackageReference</NuGetProjectStyle> <NuGetToolVersion Condition=" '$(NuGetToolVersion)' == '' ">4.7.0</NuGetToolVersion> </PropertyGroup>
Example: Import another MSBuild script if it exists:
<ImportGroup> <Import Project="C:\MyProject\Script.props" Condition="Exists('C:\MyProject\Script.props')" /> </ImportGroup>
Example: Store XML in a property:
<PropertyGroup> <MyProp> ... XML goes here; it may contain other $props </MyProp> </PropertyGroup>
