MSBuild 2.0 Tidbit: Stopping the xxx.sln.cache file from being generated

This is a follow-up to my prior post on generating MSBuild files from Solution files.

Sometimes it is important to stop MSBuild from writing the xxx.sln.cache file to the solution folder during a run.  This is usually a case where you want to build two flavors of the solution concurrently or you want to keep your source tree clean.  To workaround, you can set an environment variable to disable this behavior. 

Set MSBuildUseNoSolutionCache=1

From the MSBuild Team's blog.

Team Build 2008 Property Reference posted

This is another "Note to self" post.  Please feel free to ignore it as you like.

Aaron Hallberg has posted a nice reference to the Team Build 2008 built-in properties.  It can be found at: http://blogs.msdn.com/aaronhallberg/archive/2008/02/12/team-build-2008-property-reference.aspx

Visual Studio 2008 Product Comparison published on MSDN

This posting is just a "note to self" kind of reminder so that I can find this link in the future. 

Rob Caron has posted a very nice product comparison of the Visual Studio 2008 product suite on MSDN.  Here's an example of the comparison on Refactoring Tools:

Refactoring Tools

MSBuild 2.0 Tidbit: Viewing a .sln file as an MSBuild file

This post is intended in the spirit of completeness with regard to my prior post.  You can get the same MSBuild file output under MSBuild 2.0 by doing the following:

1. Create a new Environment Variable
• Name: MSBuildEmitSolution
• Value: 1
2. Run your MSBuild against the target solution
3. Check the folder that the .sln file resides in for a file named <solutionfilename>.sln.proj

MSBuild 3.5 Tidbit: Viewing a .sln file as an MSBuild file

We all know that .sln files are not MSBuild files but still retain the old format.  During a build of a solution, MSBuild reads the .sln file and generates an MSBuild script file.  If you run your build under MSBuild 3.5 you can now find this generated file in the same folder as your .sln file.  It will be named <solutionfilename>.sln.cache.  If you don't see it there, just run your build once and it will be available.

TFSBuild.com is now LIVE!

Grant Holliday's newest project TFSBuild.com, a wiki-based repository for MSBuild related recipes, has gone live!  This is a great resource for those of us working in the build community to share recipes for successful automated builds under MSBuild/Team Build.  Grant's "Welcome" message follows:

"As a Build Master you've been put in charge of coming up with a central build system for your team. It can be quite daunting at first and you wonder "Where do I start?".
The purpose of this site is to create and share build recipes with other build masters so that we can all learn and benefit from each other's experience.
Since the site is called TFSBuild.com, there is a particular focus on MSBuild and Team Foundation Build scripts. But if you have a NAnt script or similar that you think others might find useful post it up.
The site is published as a wiki and the idea is that anybody can register to add & update content."

Looks like this site will be a great resource I can leave with my clients after a build mentoring engagement. 

Thanks Grant for putting this all together and seeding the content.

- Steve