I have a visual studio 2010 solution file containing a number of project files. If I clean the solution using devenv then the clean completes successfully, however, if I use MSBuild, two of the project files fail to clean due to a missing dependency, error MSB3395. If I run Clean a second time, immediately after the failure, the clean completes without errors.
Our build using MSBuild succeeds.
Task "UnregisterAssembly" (TaskId:204) ...
...
error MSB3395: Cannot unregister assembly "C:\Build\Dir\MyFile.dll". Could not load file or assembly 'MyOtherFile, Version=10.0.0.414, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=266e457ed35afd03' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. [C:\Build\Dir\ProjFolder\MyFileProj.vbproj]
Yes, this assembly is a COM interop assembly and so the build registers the assembly. If I delete the UnmanagedRegistration.cache files associated with the two problem areas then the clean finishes without problems. However, these files are not unregistered and registry fills up with old COM registrations. I am not certain of the impact on future builds either.
I have read the article for VS2008 projects here https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudio/2010/12/21/incorrect-solution-build-ordering-when-using-msbuild-exe/ However, I don't think this applies in this case because this build process has been cleaning and building properly for months.
I have also read: https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/26259422/msbuild-can't-clean-project-with-C-COM-component-dependant-on-other-NET-library.html. I attempted to clean the two different projects before cleaning the solution affected by this, but this too failed. e.g.,
msbuild ".\ProjDir\MyProj.csproj" /t:clean /p:configuration=Release /fl /flp:logfile=".\..\LogFiles\msbuildClean.log";verbosity=diagnostic
I have tried reverting to a previous SVN revision before the problem began to show but I still get the same error. My build machines are on Virtual Machines, and I even tried reverting the build machine to a snapshot prior to the problem showing up, but still the error would show up.
I have been at this for two weeks now, and my only recourse is to use devenv to clean the solution, which is very slow. My only idea at this time is that when using msbuild that dependencies for COM interfaces are not handled correctly for a clean but I have no idea how to fix the problem.
I can reproduce the problem using the VS2010 CMD Prompt. Below is an example cmd line that I use
msbuild "A Solution.sln" /t:clean /p:Configuration=Release /fl /flp:logfile=".\..\LogFiles\msbuildClean.log";verbosity=diagnostic
msbuild "A Solution.sln" /t:build /p:Configuration=Release /fl /flp:logFile=".\..\LogFiles\msbuildBuild.log";verbosity=diagnostic
Within the vbproj files there are PropertyGroups with a Release configuration condition. All of these include <RegisterForComInterop>true</RegisterForComInterop>. If I set this value to false, then the error goes away because there isn't anything to unregister. However, I need the .tlb files in order to compile our vb6 project.
So, are there any problems for me to just set this to false and then use Regasm to register the assemblies post build, and unregister before a clean? Does anyone have any ideas why MSBuild would suddenly have problems with this process when for months the build has run successfully?
Thanks.
UPDATE
- If I use msbuild to clean the first problem project, this clean works successfully.
- The second project however fails to clean properly
- When cleaning the first project, ProjA, it also removes dependent files from other projects, ProjB.
- When I clean the second problem project, ProjC, it also has dependencies on ProjB.dll, and this file is missing.
