If you are going to get into the Zen of TFS Team Build, then at some point you are going to have to read the TeamBuild .targets file (located in %ProgramFiles%\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\TeamBuild\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Build.targets). The TeamBuild build scripts are usually extensions of this master build script. In Orcas the script has has several revisions to make sure as many hooks are provided as possible, but extraordinary lengths have been gone to to make sure that scripts written to target the old (VS 2005) version of the file will still work with the new one. The problem with all MSBuild scripts, and a problem that is shared with Nant and Ant scripts alike, is that they take a little bit of working out. You cannot just pick up a script and read it from beginning to end due to the way that dependencies work in these process execution languages and the fact that you can have multiple entry points. Fortunately, the TeamBuild .targets file is very well commented and there is also additional documentation available on MSDN listing the points you should start to look when hooking in your logic.
However, when you eventually override your first target to write a custom bit of code in the build process, you are going to need to know some properties that are available for you. Below is my list of 30 build properties that you will find useful. There are over 70 available if you read the target file you will find them all, these are just the ones that I find most useful - some to read the properties available, and some to override to easily alter the behavior of the build script.
| Property | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| BuildDefinition | Build Definition Name | Team Build Example CI |
| TeamFoundationServerUrl | The URL of the Team Foundation Server | http://tfsserver:8080/ |
| TeamProject | Team Project build is running in | TeamProject |
| SourceGetVersion | Version to get when doing build | C1234 |
| BuildDirectory | Working directory for build | c:\buildworking\TeamProject\Team Build Example CI |
| BuildDefinitionName | Name of build definition | Team Build Example CI |
| BuildNumber | identifies the name of the build, i.e., the build number | Team Build Example CI_20070723.3 |
| DropLocation | Location of drop folder | \\jeeves\drop\fixupload |
| MachineName | Name of build machine | buildserver.teamprise.com |
| RequestedBy | User requesting build (in DOMAIN\Username format). In a CI build, this will be less meaningful as it is a service user. | Team Build System Account |
| RequestedFor | User that build was requested for (in DOMAIN\Username format). In a CI build this will be the user who performed the check-in that triggered the build | DOMAIN\username |
| StartTime | Build start date/time | 07/23/2007 10:44:43 |
| IncrementalGet | Set this property to true to do an incremental get - this will override the CleanCompilationOutputOnly, SkipInitializeWorkspace, and ForceGet properties | FALSE |
| IncrementalBuild | Set this property to true to do an incremental build - this will override the SkipClean, SkipInitializeWorkspace, and ForceGet properties | FALSE |
| SkipClean | Set this property to true to skip the CoreClean target | FALSE |
| SkipLabel | Set this property to true to skip the CoreLabel target | FALSE |
| SkipPostBuild | Set this property to true to skip the PostBuild target | FALSE |
| SkipGetChangesetsAndUpdateWorkItems | Set this property to skip the CoreGetChangesetsAndUpdateWorkItems target, which calls the GenCheckinNotesUpdateWorkItems task | FALSE |
| SkipDropBuild | Set this property to true to skip the CoreDropBuild target | FALSE |
| SkipWorkItemCreation | Set this property to true to skip the CoreCreateWorkItem target | FALSE |
| StopOnFirstFailure | Set this property to true to stop Cleaning, Compiling, and/or Testing on the first failure encountered | FALSE |
| SolutionRoot | points to the root of the sources folder on build server | c:\buildworking\TeamProject\Team Build Example CI\BuildType\..\Sources |
| BinariesRoot | points to the root of the binaries folder on the build server | c:\buildworking\TeamProject\Team Build Example CI\BuildType\..\Sources\..\Binaries |
| TestResultsRoot | points to the root of the test results folder on the build server | c:\buildworking\TeamProject\Team Build Example CI\BuildType\..\Sources\..\TestResults |
| WorkspaceName | The name of the workspace that will be used for getting sources. Note: Workspace name can be up to 64 characters long - after that it will be truncated. | $(COMPUTERNAME)_$(TeamProject)_$(BuildDefinition) |
| GetPopulateOutput | Set this to true to populate the Gets, Replaces, and Deletes item group outputs of the Get task | FALSE |
| LabelComment | The comment used by the Label task | Label created by Team Build |
| LabelName | The label name used by the Label task. By default the label name is set to $(BuildNumber) in the InitializeEndToEndIteration target. | Team Build Example CI_20070723.3 |
| OutDir | The location of the output files in the build working directory. | c:\buildworking\TeamProject\Team Build Example CI\BuildType\..\Sources\..\Binaries\Release\ |
| BuildProperties | all properties into a single string for simple passing to child MSBuild task invocations. See also "EscapedBuildProperties", | BuildAgentName=BuildServerAgent;BuildAgentUri=vstfs:///Build/Agent/1; BuildDirectory=c:\buildworking\TeamProject\Team Build Example CI; BuildDefinitionName=Team Build Example CI; BuildDefinitionUri=vstfs:///Build/Definition/1; BuildNumber=Team Build Example CI_20070723.3; ConfigurationFolderUri=vstfs:///VersionControl/VersionedItem/TeamProject%25252fTeamBuildTypes%25252fTeam%252bBuild%252bExample%252bCI%2526changesetVersion%253d5935%2526deletionId%253d0; ConfigurationFolderGetTime=07/23/2007 10:44:43; DropLocation=\\jeeves\drop\fixupload; MachineName=build.teamprise.com; MaxProcesses=1;Port=9191; RequestedBy=Team Build System Account; RequestedFor=DOMAIN\username; StartTime=07/23/2007 10:44:43 |
Trackback from http://dotmad.blogspot.com/2007/07/30-useful-team-build-properties-from.html
But remember, you cannot get the value of the "RequestedBy" in the MSBuild Script. Looks like you need to write a custom task : See:
http://blogs.msdn.com/gautamg/archive/2005/12/20/505863.aspx
Sudheer,
RequestedBy and RequestedFor are available inside the Team Build 2008 build scripts, so with TFS2008 you won't need that workaround.
Cheers,
Martin.
Thanks for posting this. Its very useful!
Cheers
Greg
RequestedFor can't be overridden right?
It's only there to query against?
thanks for this post. Relly useful!!!!
Trackback from: http://campey.blogspot.com/2009/05/incremental-get.html
I've been knee-deep in TFS and MSBuild for the past couple of weeks, and Google keeps sending me back to your blog, where I am consistently delivered the tidbits and top tips I'm after. I really appreciate all the effort you've put into this site over the years and - as if it were ever in doubt - it's crystal clear why you are held in such high regard by the community. Thank you Martin!!