MSBuild CodeGen

A custom MSBuild task for code generators with discovered dependencies (e.g. .d files). The task properties match CustomBuild with the addition of a new DependencyFile property. The dependency file format is Makefile syntax like what gcc produces with gcc -MD -MF $out.d.

Usage

Load the task from the DLL:

  <UsingTask TaskName="CodeGen" AssemblyFile="{dll path}" />

Create an ItemGroup for your custom file type:

<ItemGroup>
  <MyFile Include="{input path}">
    <Command>{command to execute}</Command>
    <Outputs>{output path}</Outputs>
    <AdditionalInputs>{tool path}</AdditionalInputs>
    <DependencyFile>{dependency path}</DependencyFile>
  </MyFile>
  <MyFile>
    ...
  </MyFile>
</ItemGroup>

Create targets that invoke the task:

  <Target Name="CodeGenMyFile" BeforeTargets="ClCompile">
    <CodeGen Inputs="@(MyFile)" TargetName="CodeGenMyFile" TLogLocation="$(TLogLocation)" Clean="false" />
  </Target>
  <Target Name="CleanMyFile" AfterTargets="Clean">
    <CodeGen Inputs="@(MyFile)" TargetName="CodeGenMyFile" TLogLocation="$(TLogLocation)" Clean="true" />
  </Target>

The TargetName property must match the name of the Target so that the generated .tlog files will be recognized by Visual Studio.

The command must create a dependency file listing the input path and its dependencies using Makefile syntax:

{input path}: {dependency path1} {dependency path2} ...