Question

I’ve got a freshly made C++ (.vcxproj) project that I’ve added some files to. Now, I’m attempting to compile it using the following code:

var clogger = new ConsoleLogger(LoggerVerbosity.Diagnostic);
var pc = new ProjectCollection(new Dictionary<string, string>{{"Configuration", "Release"},
{"ToolsVersion", "4.0"}},
  new[] { clogger }, ToolsetDefinitionLocations.Registry);
pc.DefaultToolsVersion = "4.0";
pc.LoadProject(projectPath);

var project = new Project(pc);
try
{
  Assert.That(project.Build("Release"), Is.True);
}
finally
{
  pc.UnregisterAllLoggers();
}

Unfortunately, attempting to compile the project gives me the following error:

Building with tools version "4.0".
MSBUILD : error MSB4057: The target "Rebuild" does not exist in the project.

I’ve tried plenty of targets including not specifying a target at all, and I keep getting the same error. I assume that the Rebuild target really is in the project because msbuild from the command line builds it just fine. What am I missing?

Answer 1

1. Set your Project object as follows:

      //pc.LoadProject(projectPath); - redundant
      //var project = new Project(pc); - let `ProjectCollection` return your project
   
      var project = pc.LoadProject(projectPath);
   

2. Build() takes a Target name, not a Property name:

So here pass the Rebuild target:

Assert.That(project.Build("Rebuild"), Is.True);