Can Microsoft.Build.BuildEngine be multithreaded

Question

I have a number of Visual Studio build solutions.

Can Microsoft.Build.BuildEngine be used to create multiple solutions at the same time (i.e. by multithreading)?

I know that he has some kind of STAThread requirement, although I never understood what this means for my programs.

Edit: Let me clarify. I know that MSBuild can do multi-threaded builds of projects in a solution. I have a question: can Microsoft.Build.BuildEngine.Engine use different threads to create different solutions / projects.

I tried to create separate Engines in different threads, and that didn't work. When I tried to use one engine, it worked in one thread.

Can Microsoft.Build.BuildEngine .NET library collect more than one project / solution at a time?

Answer 1

It depends on what you do. Yes, you can execute several parallel projects (in VS go to Tools → Options → Projects and solutions → Build and run). If you are using MSBuild, you can use the / m [: number] command. Regarding BuildEngine, which is deprecated in favor of Microsoft.Build.Construction/Microsoft.Build.Evaluation/Microsoft.Build.Execution, which I believe BuildParameters.MaxNodeCount determines the number of threads. Although I personally would recommend just running msbuild on your own or using an IDE, it's a lot easier.