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Building projects with MSBuild 15 and Microsoft.NET.Sdk allows users to specify half a dozen version properties. What is the difference between each of these and what is the right way to use them?
And to be clear, I'm talking about "properties" as MSBuild properties that are defined in the file (as below)
<PropertyGroup> <Version>1.2.0</Version> </PropertyGroup> ...or on command line as msbuild.exe /p:Version=1.2.0
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"Product Version" is the fully expanded Product version number which is set in the project. "File Version" will compress the Product Version removing the zeros that precede the value for a specific field and adding a zero for fields that have not been set, and then displays the compressed four field product version.
MSBuild lets you set properties on the command line by using the -property (or -p) switch. These global property values override property values that are set in the project file. This includes environment properties, but does not include reserved properties, which cannot be changed.
Also, setting these values explicitly will override the defaults.
VersionPrefix
Format: major.minor.patch
Examples: 14.2.4, 0.1.0, 99.99.99
Meaning: The normal part of the semver version number. This is used to determine the beginning of the Version value.
Default: "1.0.0"
VersionSuffix
Format: [0-9A-Za-z-.]* (arbitrary string)
Examples: alpha, beta, build0123, rc4-build201701, rc.1, rc-1
Meaning: The pre-release label of the version number. Used to determine the ending of a Version value.
Default: (empty)
Version
Format: major.minor.patch[-prerelease]
Examples: 5.3.9-beta, 0.0.1-alpha-01, 0.0.1-alpha.1, 2.0.0
Meaning: This property is the most commonly used property in user projects. Other version properties look to this value as a default. It is also used to generate the value of System.Reflection.AssemblyInformationalVersionAttribute. The preprelease value is optional.
Default: VersionPrefix if VersionSuffix is empty. VersionPrefix-VersionSuffix if VersionSuffix is not empty.
Note: setting Version explicitly will override any VersionPrefix or VersionSuffix settings.
Also, this typically follows SemVer rules. See http://semver.org/ for details
PackageVersion
Format: major.minor.patch[-prerelease]
Meaning: Used to generate the package version when producing a NuGet package from an MSBuild project.
Default: matches Version
AssemblyVersion
Format: major.minor.patch.revision
Examples: 4.5.6.2, 1.0.0.0
Meaning: Used to generate the value of System.Reflection.AssemblyVersionAttribute. The compiler uses this to determine the final AssemblyVersion value, an essential part of assembly identity. See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/51ket42z(v=vs.110).aspx#Anchor_0
Default: matches Version without the prerelease label.
FileVersion
Format major.minor.patch.buildnumber
Examples: 1.0.0.43952, 0.1.0.0
Meaning: Used to generate the value of System.Reflection.AssemblyFileVersionAttribute. This is not required to match AssemblyVersion. It is common to add a build number to this version.
Default: matches AssemblyVersion
InformationalVersion
Format: any
Meaning: Used to generate the value of System.Reflection.AssemblyInformationalVersionAttribute. This attribute can contain any additional version information.
Default: matches Version
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