How can I force MSBuild to respect project dependencies in my solution when my project uses a Csc task?

Question

Background:

I am currently using VS2010.

There is a known issue with MSBuild where project dependencies in a solution work when building from the IDE, but do not work when the solution is built through MSBuild.

(MSBuild is run via Cruise Control .NET like so:)

<cb:define buildArgs="/noconsolelogger /p:Configuration=$(configuration);Platform=$(platform) /maxcpucount /v:minimal /nologo" />
<!-- ... -->
<cb:define name="buildSolution"> 
  <msbuild>
    <executable>$(msbuildExe)</executable>
    <workingDirectory>$(localWorkingDirectory)</workingDirectory>
    <projectFile>$(solutionfile)</projectFile>
    <buildArgs>$(buildArgs)</buildArgs>
    <targets>build</targets>
    <timeout>7200</timeout>
    <logger>C:\Program Files (x86)\CruiseControl.NET\server\ThoughtWorks.CruiseControl.MsBuild.dll</logger>
  </msbuild>
</cb:define>

Thus, I solve this issue by using a non-linking project reference:

<!-- Inside ProjectB.csproj -->
<ProjectReference Include="..\ProjectA\ProjectA.vcxproj">
  <LinkLibraryDependencies>false</LinkLibraryDependencies>
  <Project>{GUID}</Project>
  <Name>ProjectA</Name>
</ProjectReference>

In this case, ProjectA is a SWIG project that generates CS source files to be compiled into ProjectB. I accomplish this like so:

<ItemGroup>
  <Compile Include="Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs" />
  <Compile Include="..\ProjectA\generated\cs\*.cs" />
</ItemGroup>

However, although this works fine when building through the IDE, it includes none of these files when building through MSBuild. I was able to get it to work by adding the following:

<ItemGroup>
  <CSFile Include="..\ProjectA\generated\cs\*.cs" />
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Build" DependsOnTargets="BeforeBuild">
  <Csc Sources="@(CSFile)" References="@(Reference)" OutputAssembly="$(OutputPath)$(AssemblyName).dll" TargetType="dll" />
</Target>

Actual Issue:

It seems like MSBuild is no longer respecting the project reference, so it will usually try to build ProjectB before ProjectA.

What is the MSBuild command line that you are using? In particular are you building a solution or a project? — Justin
I've added the info about the MSBuild command. I am building a solution. — Veggie

Veggie Veggie · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-20T16:27:37

It appears that the issue was not build order so much as when the wildcards are evaluated.

In my example, the CSFile tag is evaluated before the generated .cs files from ProjectA exist, so even though ProjectA happens first, they are not included in the build.

To circumvent this, I have to manually call ProjectA from ProjectB through MSBuild, read the file list at runtime, and manually append it to the Compile collection.

At the end of the ProjectB.csproj file, I've inserted:

<Target Name="BeforeBuild">
  <!-- Force project references to build before this, because otherwise it doesn't... -->
  <MSBuild Projects="@(ProjectReference)"
           Targets="Build"
           BuildInParallel="false"
           Properties="%(_MSBuildProjectReferenceExistent.SetConfiguration);%(_MSBuildProjectReferenceExistent.SetPlatform)"
           ContinueOnError="false" />
  <CreateItem Include="..\ProjectA\generated\$(Platform)\$(Configuration)\cs\*.cs">
    <Output ItemName="Compile" TaskParameter="Include" />
  </CreateItem>
  <CreateItem Include="..\ProjectA\generated\$(Platform)\$(Configuration)\cs\*.cs">
    <Output ItemName="GeneratedCS" TaskParameter="Include" />
  </CreateItem>
  <Message Text="Generated .cs files...%0d    @(GeneratedCS->'%(Filename)%(Extension)','%0d    ')" Importance="high" />
</Target>

This will add all generated .cs files to the project, as well as print all their names to the console.

How can I force MSBuild to respect project dependencies in my solution when my project uses a Csc task?

2 Answers