What is NAnt?
NAnt is a free .NET build tool that helps automate the process of building complex software projects. NAnt is similar in concept to build tools like make and Ant. In fact it's very similar to Ant.
Why not use makefiles?
- Neater syntax
- Easier tool integration thru the use of XML
- Portability -- NAnt runs wherever a .NET framework is present
- Specific support for .NET compilers and tools
- Filesets and other grooviness
I have Visual Studio .NET - why do I need NAnt?
( Stolen from Jeffrey McManus' article - [http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2003/01/27/nant.html?page=1] )
With Visual Studio .NET, you can easily build and compile .NET projects that contain any number of subprojects -- collections of interdependent web pages, executables, DLL assemblies, and so forth -- with a single menu command. But relying on a single programmer hitting the "compile" button doesn't always work for large and complicated projects. What if you don't care to install VS.NET on every machine you own? Wouldn't it be nice if you had a way to automate the software build process so nobody ever has to hit the compile button? There are many benefits to an automated build process, but to make it happen, you've got to have a build tool.
If you need to distribute your code to many developers who may not have Visual Studio.Net a NAnt build script could be just what you need.
Is there a FAQ on the NAnt project homepage?
Not yet. Its here.
How do I incorporate NAntContrib into NAnt?
Build it and place the assembly in the same directory as the main NAnt executable.
"I've written a custom task, and it won't load" -- what's wrong?
Ensure that your assembly is named something like XXXTasks.dll and that it is placed in the same directory as NAnt or in a subdirectory named 'tasks'. Make sure you've got the ~TaskName attribute on your class. Make sure that your ~TaskAttribute attributes are attached to public properties with set methods.
How do I reference Environment Variables from NAnt?
NAnt has a sysinfo task which will inject the set of environment variables and some other system properties into the properties collection under the sys.env namespace. You can then reference them the same way as any other properties. So, for example, you would access the path with ${sys.env.path}. See the sysinfo task help for more info.
What is/what happened to ?
What are the benefits and advantages of NAnt?
Here is a list from some NAnt uses. Use NAnt if you need to :
- Kick off calls to external processes (such as email, the file system, or an automated unit testing system like NUnit)
- Kick off your build from a centrally-managed location (i.e., a server) so the "one true" version of your build resides in one and only one location
- Build your software on any machine regardless of the presence or absence of Visual Studio .NET
- Build multiple versions/flavors of your product
- You have a large number of interdependent projects (assemblies) to build.
- Build a projects that has multiple dependencies in different languages (such as VB .NET, C#, managed C++, etc.)
- Archive your build (as a ZIP file) after the build succeeds
- Build a signed and unsigned version together
- SCP files up to another server
- Perform additional logic in your build process
- Do unit testing concurrently with the build as part of an automated, continuous test process
- Run a custom program to generate validate and generate code
- Download a file from the Internet to do your build
Why not use Ant?
- JDK dependencies
- Specific .NET features like attributes make using NAnt much easier and cleaner than Ant
- Specific support for .NET SDK tools and compilers
- We just wanted to build our own
Which release should I be using?
You should use the build listed on the NAnt home page as the 'stable release' if stability and robustness is what you're after. If you're after the most up-to-date version you are welcome to try one of the nightly builds, although be aware that these are not intended to be release quality. If you encounter something you believe to be a bug with a nightly build, you are encouraged to report it to the NAnt-developers list.
I've heard about task X -- where can I find it?
Some tasks that are not in the core NAnt distibution are in a related project called NAntContrib.
What/where is NAntContrib?
NAntContrib is a separate project for extra tasks and extra tools that haven't made it into the core NAnt distribution. The idea is that it's easier to get code added to NAntContrib. It is likely that some tasks will migrate across into NAnt itself as they become more used. The NAntContrib project is located at http://sourceforge.net/projects/nantcontrib.
How do I incorporate NAntContrib into NAnt?
Build it and place the assembly in the same directory as the main NAnt executable.
I can't find any documentation for task X - where is it?
A userdoc is automatically created as part of the build process. If the doc in the version you downloaded is out of date, you can always run the userdoc target in NAnt's buildfile.
How do I use NAnt from Visual Studio .NET?
You can add NAnt to the external tools menu. You can also use the NAnt add-in, which is part of the NAntContrib project.
How do I convert a Visual Studio .NET project file into an NAnt build file?
You have a couple of options:
1. You can use the Slingshot tool
2. You can use Gordons Weakliem's XSL transform to convert .csproj files. See http://radio.weblogs.com/0106046/stories/2002/08/10/supportingVsnetAndNant.html for more information
3. On the BuildFile Builder website (http://dotnet.leadit.be/buildfilebuilder) you can paste a Visual Studio project file and it will generate a NAnt build file.
Alternatly, you could use the
What/where is Slingshot?
Slingshot is a project for converting Visual Studio .NET solutions to NAnt build files. It is currently part of the NAntContrib project.
Can I build C++ projects with NAnt?
Yes. See the Visual C++ tasks and John Lam's docs in NAntUsage.
Can NAnt access code that resides in SourceSafe?
Yes, there are Visual SourceSafe tasks (see NAntContrib) and hopefully there are CVS tasks in the main distribution. See SourceControl for an overview.
How do I execute a batch file from within NAnt?
To do this you must explicitly invoke the command processor (cmd.exe) passing your batch file in the command line.
How do I contribute to NAnt or NAntContrib?
- Read the coding conventions (http://sourceforge.net/docman/display_doc.php?docid=6080&group_id=31650)
- Grab the source
- Send patches to the developer lists
I want to get the source but I've never used CVS before -- what do I need?
How do I create my own tasks?
Read the tutorial. Post to the list to see if someone is already working on a similar task. Use the Attrib task as reference, flesh it out, then post it to the developer list for review. Be sure you adhere to our coding guidelines.
Now that I've created my own tasks how do I get NAnt to find them?
Ensure that your assembly is named somthing like XXXTasks.dll and that it is placed in the same directory as NAnt, or in a subdirectory named 'tasks'.
How can I target multiple framework versions with NAnt?
See [http://nant.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Specifying%20.NET%20Framework%20Versions]
Are there any guidelines or best practices for using NAnt?
Not right now, but hopefully soon. If you have any suggestions in this area, please feel free to post them to the NAnt-users list.
Is a feature to load properties from a file like in Ant ?
There sure is. Use the include task:
The included file must also be a build file format. Just put standard property definitions in it. somthing like:
Does NAnt work with Mono?
The Mono team currently uses an old version of NAnt to build their libraries. The NAnt team has the goal of providing a version of NAnt that is cross-platform (under the Microsoft .NET framework on Windows as well as Mono on Linux), but this needs some work and dedicated testing -- particularly on a Linux machine.
However you execute builds against the mono toolchain on windows right now. Either set the defaultFramework in NAnt.exe.config to a mono-{ver} or set the currentframework property in your buildfile to mono.
See also MonoSupport.
How can I make .build files have syntax highlighting in Visual Studio .NET?
If you use the Visual Studio .NET File Open dialog to open the .build file, there is an arrow to the right of the Open button. Click the arrow and choose *Open With...* You will see a list of options. Choose *HTML/XML Editor*. Click *Set* as default. -ArildFines
You can also do the same thing within the Solution Explorer by right-clicking and choosing Add/Add Existing Item. Add the .build file to your solution. Then right-click the .build file and choose *Open With*. Now follow the previous directions. -ScottPascoe
_Here are more detailed instructions_ (from Duncan Goodwin email on nant-users)
The steps are:
- From inside Visual Studio.NET right click on the .build file, and from the context-menu select open with..
- Select html/xml editor, and click Set default (so next time you can skip the open with)
- Put an XML schema for NAnt in c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio.NET\Common7\Packages\schemas\xml\
- In the build file, match the schema you put in the xml\ directory with the .build file, e.g.
- If you use the VS.Net properties window for the build file, you can use the dropdown to set the namespace automagically.
_Here's some updated info on the NAnt Schema:_
From: Scott Hernandez
Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2003 19:48:55 -0800
In the next nightly build there will be a new target called "deploy-schema"
that will copy the schema file to the vs.net (7.0 and 7.1) schema
directories. That should help a little :)
*Please note* that the targetNamespace is in the form of
="~http://nant.sf.net/schemas/${project.name}-${project.version}.${nant.platform.name}.${nant.settings.currentframework}.xsd"=
which for me became
=~"~http://nant.sf.net/schemas/nant-0.84.win32.net-1.0.xsd";=
on the latest cvs tree. The nightly build will replace the version with the date, I believe.
But the point is that there is _no one namespace; it is always changing_ as
the source code is changing...
_You should now have Intellisense and validation!_
Why aren't some files being compiled/copied/zipped, etc.?
If you're using a task that has a fileset
How do I check if a directory is empty?
One way to accomplish this:
Can I use the Windows Explorer to run .build files?
You could associate nant.exe with the .build extension. This will build the project's default target, if you double click the .build script in the Windows Explorer. Alternatively you could try the NAntMenu Shell Extension, which populates the .build file's context menu with it's main targets.
If I include a build file that exists in another directory (using the
If the path is relative to the location of each individual build file, is there a way to get the directory of the main build file?
I build a solution using the nant solution task. Why are the resources contained in the solution not built to satellite assemblies using the resource naming convention for the directories (as it is done by Visual Studio) ?
They should be now. There was a bug where this was not happening correctly.
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