How can I reference a project without linking to it in a csproj?

Question

I have a test project that runs a program (a .exe) and ensures that the results come out as expected.

I'd like to declare that the test project depends on the project that builds the .exe, and place the .exe drop into a subdirectory of $(OutDir) (or $(OutputPath)).

• $(OutDir)MyTests.dll (test project)
• $(OutDir)\Product\Foo.exe (tested project)
• $(OutDir)\Product\xxx.dll (dependencies of the tested project)

This way I can write a test of the form:

[TestClass]
[DeploymentItem("Product", "Product")]
public class RunFoo
{
    [TestMethod]
    public void HelpTextMatches()
    {
        // System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("Product\foo.exe" ...)
    }
}

Is there a way to declare something like a <ProjectReference in my test .csproj file which will allow me to achieve this?

(I don't want to just have a <Copy task grabbing the outputs of the program under test because then there's nothing to force MSBuild to build the program under test before the test project.)

Answer 1

I'd like to declare that the test project depends on the project that builds the .exe...

Set ReferenceOutputAssembly to false on the project reference (source):

<ProjectReference Include="..\ProjectA\ProjectA.csproj">
  <Project>{b402782f-de0a-41fa-b364-60612a786fb2}</Project>
  <Name>ProjectA</Name>
  <ReferenceOutputAssembly>false</ReferenceOutputAssembly>
</ProjectReference>

...and place the .exe drop into a subdirectory of $(OutDir) (or $(OutputPath))

Post-build action. Or just run the exe under test in-place.

Answer 2

I don't quite understand your reasons for not using ProjectReference, but this essentially does what adding ProjectReference does except without the added assembly references.

<ItemGroup>
    <ExtraDependencies include="ExeProject.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

<Target Name="GetExtraDependenciesTargets">
    <MSBuild Projects="@(ExtraDependencies)" Targets="GetTargetPath">
        <Output TaskParameter="TargetOutputs" ItemName="ResolvedDependencyTargets" />
    </MSBuild>
</Target>

<Target Name="BuildExtraDependencies"
        BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild"
        DependsOnTargets="GetExtraDependenciesTargets"
        Inputs="@(ExtraDependencies)"
        Outputs="@(ResolvedDependencyTargets)">
    <MSBuild Projects="@(ExtraDependencies)" Targets="Build">
        <Output TaskParameter="TargetOutputs" ItemName="BuiltDependencyTargets" />
    </MSBuild>
</Target>

Alternatively, you could keep the ProjectReference but just hijack the build process right after the ResolveProjectReferences target and remove the exe as a dependency (from _ResolvedProjectReferencePaths).