Net4x.ProjectFormat.Library 1.0.0.26250

Net4x.ProjectFormat.Library

Converts old format (pre VS2017) MSBuild projects to the SDK style format, and reads either format as an object model you can query.

Give it a solution, a project, or a text file listing projects; it reads every project, works out what the SDK gives you for free, and rewrites the project keeping only what is genuinely yours — the package references taken from packages.config, the assembly metadata taken from AssemblyInfo.cs, the package metadata taken from a .nuspec, the conditional property groups, and the items that a wildcard cannot express.

Targets net35, net40, net45, net461 and netstandard2.0.

Install

dotnet add package Net4x.ProjectFormat.Library

Convert

using ProjectsFormatLibrary;
using ProjectsFormatLibrary.Processing;

// Convert every project of a solution, rewriting each project file in place.
var projects = ConversionProcessor.GetInstance()
    .ProcessSolutionOrProjects(@"C:\src\MySolution.sln", writeProjectInNewFormat: true);

foreach (var project in projects.Values)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{project.AssemblyName} -> {string.Join(";", project.GetTargetFrameworks())}");
}

ProcessSolutionOrProjects accepts a .sln, a single project file, or a text file holding one project path per line. Pass writeProjectInNewFormat: false to read the projects without touching them.

Every project file that is rewritten is backed up first, next to the original.

Read without converting

var project = ProjectProcessor.Instance.ProcessProject(@"C:\src\MyLibrary\MyLibrary.csproj");

project.AssemblyName;              // from the project, or from the file name
project.GetTargetFrameworks();     // "v4.6.1" becomes "net461"
project.GetVersion();              // from AssemblyInfo.cs, or from <Version>
project.IsProjectInNewFormat();    // true for an SDK style project
project.IsTestProject();
project.GetReferencedPackages();   // packages.config or PackageReference, whichever applies
project.GetProjectOutputFileName(project.GetProjectOutputDirectory("Release"));

The same object model answers for both formats, so you do not have to branch on the project format yourself.

Other entry points:

Settings

Settings are read from the command line, from the application configuration, and from the defaults shipped with the package — in that order. Set them in code through ConfigurationUtility:

ConfigurationUtility.Configuration = "Release";
ConfigurationUtility.FoldersToExclude = new[] { "packages", "obj", "bin", ".vs" };

Separators. A setting whose entries cannot contain | is separated by |. A setting whose entries contain | themselves — FilesToProcess, ProjectsToPatch, SettingsToEdit, WildcardsToInclude — is separated by ;:

ConfigurationUtility.SettingsToEdit = new[] { "Debug32|AnyCPU=Debug|AnyCPU", "Release64=Release|AnyCPU" };

Patching a file while it is converted

Implement IPatcher to edit a file, or to veto the conversion of a project, while it is being converted. The library loads your type by assembly and class name, so it needs a public parameterless constructor:

public class AppConfigPatcher : IPatcher
{
    public bool PatchFile(string sourceFile, Project project, XElement projectNode)
    {
        // projectNode is the SDK style project about to be written.
        projectNode.Add(new XElement("PropertyGroup", new XElement("LangVersion", "latest")));
        return true; // false leaves the project untouched
    }
}

ConfigurationUtility.ProjectsToPatch = new[] { "*.csproj|MyPatchers|MyPatchers.AppConfigPatcher" };
ConfigurationUtility.FilesToProcess  = new[] { "App.config|MyPatchers|MyPatchers.AppConfigPatcher" };

ProjectsToPatch matches the project file — by name, or by a * suffix wildcard. FilesToProcess matches any other file of the project folder. A patcher that cannot be loaded is logged and skipped; it never fails the conversion.

What stops a conversion

A project is read but left on disk unchanged when it declares a XamlAppDef item, or when it references one of the IncompatibleAssemblies. A .wixproj (output type Package) is recognised as an installer and read no further.

License

Copyright (c) Piero Viano. All rights reserved.