We all know about NAnt, MsBuild and some other build tools.
People are very aware of these, but seem to be unaware that you can
create your own build batch file just by using visual studio and the
command prompt.
Letâs say you have 2 solutions, a solution with business objects and
business rules assemblies, and another solution just for an Asp.Net GUI
project. We can easily build a batch file to compile these three
projects:
Batch file build
REM Builds projects in debug mode
REM Build data project
Devenv /build debug /project DataAccess "C:\Projects\WebApplication\BusinessProjects.sln"
REM Build business rules project
Devenv /build debug /project BusinessRules "C:\Projects\WebApplication\BusinessProjects.sln"
REM Build web application
Devenv /build debug /project WebApplication "C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\WebApplication\AspWebApplication.sln"
Voila! Run the batch file to build everything in debug build.
- âDevenvâ is the IDE executable.
- /build is the switch to build the project. It takes either
âdebugâ or âreleaseâ as arguments. Change âdebugâ to âreleaseâ to
build everything in release mode.
- /project and its argument specifiy the name of the project to build within a solution.
- The final argument for âdevenvâ is the location of the solution file that contains the project you want to build.
Note: This works for .Net IDE 2002 and 2003. I have not
tried this with 2005 yet. If anyone has, let me know of the
changes in the comments below.
You can do âdevenv /?â at the command prompt to list all available switches for Devenv, with descriptions of their uses.
From MSDN Documentation:
The following syntax rules apply to all switches and arguments:
- The command line syntax must start with
devenv. For example, to use the /fn switch you would type the following: devenv /fn arial
- Switches are not case sensitive.
- The first argument is typically a solution file name.
- When you supply a project file name instead of a solution file name, Devenv does the following:
- Searches the parent directory of the project file for a solution
file of the same name. For example, if you specify myproject1.vbproj,
Devenv looks for myproject1.sln.
- Searches for a single solution file with a reference to the project
file in the parent directory of the project file. If more than one
solution references the project file or no solutions reference the
project file, a temporary solution with the same name as the project
file is created.
- File paths and file names that include spaces must be enclosed in double quotation mark ("").
- Include the drive letter when specifying file paths.
- Separate multiple switches and arguments with one white space character.
- Devenv does not accept wildcards or other pattern matching syntax.
Use the following command line switches to display the integrated development environment and perform the described task.
| Command line switch |
Description |
/lcid or /l |
Sets the default language for the IDE. |
| /fn |
Changes the system font for the IDE. |
| /fs |
Changes the system font size for the IDE. |
/run or /r |
Compiles and runs the specified solution. |
| /runexit |
Compiles and runs the specified solution, minimizing
the IDE when the solution is run, and closing the IDE after the
solution has completed running. |
| /mdi |
Opens the IDE in multiple-document interface (MDI)
mode. In addition, the MDI environment option in the Options dialog box
is selected. For more information, see General, Environment, Options Dialog Box. |
| /mditabs |
Opens the IDE in MDI mode with the tabs on documents enabled. |
| /command |
Starts the IDE and executes the specified command. |
| /migratesettings |
Opens the IDE and copies certain Options dialog box settings from a pervious version to the more recent version. |
| /debugexe |
Loads a Visual C++ executable under the control of the
debugger. This switch is not available for Visual Basic or Visual C#
executables. For more information, see Launching the Debugger Automatically. |
| /useenv |
Causes the integrated development environment (IDE) to
use PATH, INCLUDE, and LIB environment variables for Visual C++
compilation rather than the settings specified in the VC++ Directories
section of Projects options in the Options dialog box. For more
information, see Setting the Path and Environment Variables for Command-Line Builds |
Use the following command line switches to perform the described
task. These command line switches do not display the integrated
development environment.
| Command line switch |
Description |
| /build |
Builds the specified solution or project according to the specified solution configuration. |
| /rebuild |
Cleans and then builds the specified solution or project according to the specified solution configuration. |
| /project |
The project to build, clean, or deploy. You can use
this switch only if you have supplied the /build, /rebuild, /clean, or
/deploy switch. |
| /projectconfig |
Specifies the project configuration to build or deploy. You can use this switch only if you have supplied the /project switch. |
| /clean |
Cleans the specified solution or project according to the specified solution configuration. |
| /deploy |
Causes deployment after a build (or a rebuild) according to the specified solution configuration. |
| /out |
Allows you to specify a file to receive errors when you build. |
| /nologo |
Prevents copyright information from displaying. |
| /? |
Displays help inside the Command Prompt window for Devenv switches. |
The following switches are available only to those companies who
participate in the Visual Studio .NET Integration Program (VSIP).
| Command line switch |
Description |
| /noVSIP |
Disables the VSIP developer's license key on a developer workstation. |
| /safemode |
Launches Visual Studio in safe mode, loading only the default environment and services. |
| /resetskippkgs |
Clears all SkipLoading tags added to VSPackages by users wishing to avoid loading problem VSPackages. |
Read: Using Devenv at the command prompt to build projects
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