Using an external tool for C# builds in Visual Studio

Question

When using Visual Stdio 2008, you can make a C++ project build with an internal tool rather than having the IDE invoke MSVC directly. This improves the consistency of builds across platforms if a cross-platform build system is used.

However, I cannot figure out how to do the same as a C# project. It would be possible to simply register it as a native project with C# sources, however, you lose some of the advantages gained through having a C# project. More importantly, it will mean that allowing a project to build both directly and with an external tool (which is sadly necessary) will require two separate projects, rather than merely creating an alternate build configuration to invoke the external tool.

Does anyone know if it's possible to prevent Visual Studio from invoking csc by itself and instead call an external tool?

EDIT: Apparently there has some misunderstanding. The goal here is not to compile anything outside of Visual Studio. Instead, it's to allow Visual Studio to serve as the IDE but not the build system. There is already a (Scons-based) build system capable of compiling the C# and C++ sources, and Visual Studio has been configured to invoke Scons for compilation of C++ projects. I'm trying to configure it so that when you hit the 'Build' button, it will invoke Scons for the C# projects as well as the C++ ones.

Answer 1

Edit: Your question is still answered using MSBuild(if you are simply looking to compile outside the IDE). The IDE(Visual Studios) is simply a "fancy" way of constructing the build files that are built by MSBuild. Visual Studios isn't building the files, it simply is invoking MSBuild which ships with the .NET Framework 2.0 and up which compiles your code based on the project file that you create. If Scons can read and process an MSBuild file then I'm sure you can invoke it to build your project. But considering the fact that C# is a Microsoft language, I think you will be hard-pressed to find a value-add in not using MSBuild since I'd assume both the language and build tool are very tuned to work together. - End Edit

You can use MSBuild to compile your C# project. If you open your .csproj file in a text editor you will see that it is a MSBuild file. If you want to write some C# outside of the IDE you can construct a build file using the .csproj file as a starting point and invoke MSBuild to compile your apps. The IDE is just a way of abstracting the editing of the MSBuild file away for you.

If you are really industrious you can create a set of custom tasks to do things in your custom build process like move files around and versioning. MSBuild Community Tasks are a great example of using custom code to do task for you during MSBuild.

Answer 2

Given all the other answers, what MSBuild does when either VS or MSBuild perform a build can be found in the Targets files that ship with .Net. These can be be found in the FrameWork directory on your system. In my case:

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5

Contains Microsoft.Common.targets among others. This file contains the following snippit:

<!--
============================================================
                                    Build

The main build entry point.
============================================================
-->
<PropertyGroup>
    <BuildDependsOn>
        BeforeBuild;
        CoreBuild;
        AfterBuild
    </BuildDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target
    Name="Build"
    Condition=" '$(_InvalidConfigurationWarning)' != 'true' "
    DependsOnTargets="$(BuildDependsOn)"
    Outputs="$(TargetPath)"/>

This means that redifining this Target you can make MSBuild an VS do anything you want. The top of the mentioned file contains an important messagge:

Microsoft.Common.targets

WARNING:  DO NOT MODIFY this file unless you are knowledgeable about MSBuild and have
          created a backup copy.  Incorrect changes to this file will make it
          impossible to load or build your projects from the command-line or the IDE.

This file defines the steps in the standard build process for .NET projects.  It
contains all the steps that are common among the different .NET languages, such as
Visual Basic, C#, and Visual J#.

My suggestion would be to read all you can about MSBuild and it's build file syntax and try redifining the Build target in your project(s). My impression is that after reading up on MSBuild you'll probably find an easier way to meet your requierements. You can find an example of redifining a Target like this in one of the answers of this so question .

Edit:

How to redefine a target? Redefining is essentially defining the same target 'after' it has been defined. So for instance in your .*proj file(s) define a Build Task after the <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" /> line that imports all targets needed to in this case build a C# project. An example could be

<Target
    Name="Build"
    Condition=" '$(_InvalidConfigurationWarning)' != 'true' "
    DependsOnTargets="BeforeBuild"
    Outputs="$(TargetPath)">
    <Exec Command="nmake" />
</Target>