Attrice Corporation - MSBuild Sidekick Walkthrough 1

MSBuild Sidekick Walkthroughs

Walkthrough 1 : reating project "from scratch"

In this walkthrough you will create basic MSBuild project. This project will remove all object (*.obj) and precompiled header (*.pch) files recursively from given folder; if the folder is not passed as a parameter, folder defaults to the project location folder (such script may be useful to remove temprary files from C++ build folders).

Basic knowledge of MSBuild schema is assumed for this walkthrough.

Step1 : Create new empty project
Click on File->New menu or Standard toolbar New button whereupon new project will be created
Step2 : Add property group
Select project element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on Project element and click on Add PropertyGroup
Step3 : Add property (to specify folder to clean up)
Select property group element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on PropertyGroup element and click on Add Property
Step4 : Assign condition and default value to the property (so default will be supplied if no external value is passed)
Select Property1 element in project tree by clicking on it On Properties tab, click on Check for empty value button on the tab toolbar
On Properties tab, set Value property to "$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)"
Step5 : Add item group
Select project element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on Project element and click Add ItemGroup
Step6 : Add item (to specify files to be deleted by the project)
Select item group element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on ht ItemGroup element and click Add Item
Select element item in project tree view by clicking on it On Properties tab, set Include property to "$(Property1)\*\.obj; $(Property1)\*\.pch"
Step7 : Add target
Select project element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on Project element and click Add Target
Step8 : Add Delete task to the target
Select target element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on Target element and click Add Task
Select Delete task in Add Task dialog list Click Add button Click Close button
Step9 : Assign Delete task input parameters
Select task element in project tree view by clicking on it On Properties tab, set Files property to "@(Item)"
Step10 : Assign Delete task output parameters
Select task element in project tree view by clicking on it Right click on Delete task element and click on DeletedFiles from Add Output submenu
Select task output parameter element in project tree view by clicking on it On Properties tab, set PropertyName property to "deleted"
Step11 : Add Message task (to print the deleted files list)
Right click on Target element from project tree and choose Add Task Select Message task in Add Task dialog tasks list Click Add button Click Close button
Step12 : Assign Message task input parameters
Select task element in project tree view by clicking on it On Properties tab, set Text property to "$(deleted)"
Step13 : Set project default target
Select project element in project tree view by clicking on it On Properties tab, set DefaultTargets property to "Target1"
Step14 : Save project file
Click File->Save menu or Standard toolbar Save Project button

Upon completing the walkthrough, the following MSBuild project was created:

                                            1 <Project 
                                                xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" DefaultTargets="Target1">

                                            2    
                                            <PropertyGroup>

                                            3    
                                                <Property1 Condition="'$(Property1)' == ''">$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)</Property1>

                                            4    
                                            </PropertyGroup>

                                            5    
                                            <ItemGroup>

                                            6    
                                                <Item
                                            Include="$(Property1)\**\*.obj;$(Property1)\**\*.pch" />

                                            7    
                                            </ItemGroup>

                                            8    
                                            <Target 
                                        Name="Target1">

                                            9    
                                                <Delete
                                            Files="@(Item)">

                                           10    
                                                    <Output TaskParameter="DeletedFiles" PropertyName="deleted"/>

                                           11    
                                                </Delete>

                                           12    
                                                <Message
                                            Text="$(deleted)" />

                                           13    
                                            </Target>

                                           14 </Project>

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