Is there a way to build .NET based on the language?

Question

Perhaps I soon started a new project in .NET and would prefer not to use an XML-based build tool such as Nant or MSBuild. I like Rake, but I think it's better to have something based on the dynamic .NET language (like Boo), similar in spirit to gant or BuildR for Java. Is there such a thing for .NET? If not, what do you recommend?

Answer 1

There is always a Boo Build System or "Boobs" (yes, that is a silly name) and looks very much like Rake.

Ayende wrote about this earlier in Introducing the Boobs Build System and provides a good example of syntax.

Boo is written in C # and has a really great compiler that can be modified at runtime to perform all kinds of tricks for a specific domain (DSL).

Answer 2

You really have to check out FinalBuilder . Last year I appreciated this quite a bit, and I really liked it, although in the end we deployed TFS2008, and therefore we use TeamBuild to get a lot of integration support. But in fact, FinalBuilder had TONS of finished construction work, excellent support for many environments and tools, as well as a good development environment for its development.

Answer 3

You can try FluentBuild .

For my money, using UppercuT (uses NAnt at the back) is the best solution because of all that it can do for me, without much effort to set it up.

http://code.google.com/p/uppercut/

A few good explanations here: UppercuT

Answer 4

You should try NUBuild .

I use it on a regular basis and I work with about 75 projects that I need to build with each change / release of the code. NUBuild is extremely fast, easy to set up (you only do it once) and gives you the option of a complete build server at your fingertips, allowing you to do "local builds". It also has many other features and functions. You can find more detailed information on the project website (on codeplex):

http://nubuild.codeplex.com/

Answer 5

I have not heard anything like this, but perhaps you could port Rake to IronRuby and then expand it to understand how to build C # / VB.NET and run other .NET tools.

Answer 6

Using a custom standard build system is what you should only do if standard build systems do not do what you need. Is there some kind of functionality that Nant / Msbuild does not provide what you expect?

Answer 7

Since you mentioned this, I just started working with IronRuby and are robbing the current project. Since I do not need my team to install MRI, I decided to go with the xcopy deployment of IronRuby, which I preloaded using the rake. Not sure if this is exactly what you need, but check out my blog post on early results.

http://dylandoesdigits.blogspot.com/2009/11/rake-for-net-projects.html

I think this meets your requirements..NET based on dynamic language execution, without XML. As the current copied angle bracket, msbuild, I am very pleased with how little work there has been so far.