We want to migrate our build to MSBUILD, instead of using CSC and Link in our script.

Question

Please let us know how we can achieve the build using the MSBUILD instead of the calling the CSC and LINK.

We have a C# project file which contain all the files it required to build the application. But we have a dependency with a 3rd party .obj and .lib file, hence we are building the application using the CSC and LINK

We want to know how to configure the .obj and .lib file in the C# project file to build using the MSBUILD.

1- We want to configure the .obj in the C# project file, so during the compilation it refers the .obj for symbols used in the code.

2- We want to configure the /ASSEMBLYMODULE .obj during the link, and we want to produce the final executable out of a .lib, .obj and the compiled .netmodule.

We would like to know how we can configure all these in the C# project(.csproj) to build using the MSBUILD.

Answer 1

To achieve the build using MSBUILD instead of calling CSC and LINK directly, you can configure your C# project file (.csproj) to include the 3rd party .obj and .lib files. Here's how:

1. Add the .obj file as a module reference:

Add the following line inside the <ItemGroup> element in your .csproj file:

<Module Include="path\to\thirdparty.obj" />

This tells MSBUILD to include the symbols from the .obj file during compilation.

1. Add the .lib file as a link reference:

Add the following line inside the <ItemGroup> element in your .csproj file:

<Library Include="path\to\thirdparty.lib" />

This tells MSBUILD to link against the .lib file during the linking stage.

1. Configure the /ASSEMBLYMODULE option:

Add the following property inside the <PropertyGroup> element in your .csproj file:

<AssemblyModule>path\to\thirdparty.obj</AssemblyModule>

This specifies the .obj file to be used as an assembly module during linking.

1. Produce the final executable:

MSBUILD will automatically produce the final executable by linking the compiled .netmodule with the .lib and .obj files.

Here's an example of how your .csproj file might look:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>

    <AssemblyModule>path\to\thirdparty.obj</AssemblyModule>

  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>

    <Module Include="path\to\thirdparty.obj" />

    <Library Include="path\to\thirdparty.lib" />

  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Note: Make sure to replace "path\to\thirdparty.obj" and "path\to\thirdparty.lib" with the actual paths to your 3rd party files.

By configuring your .csproj file in this way, MSBUILD will take care of compiling and linking your C# project with the 3rd party .obj and .lib files, producing the final executable.