Building C# console project without Visual Studio

I need to creat开发者_运维问答e a script that produces an executable from a C# console project.

The client system where the script will be run doesn't have Visual Studio, but it has the .NET framework installed. How can it be done using a minimum or no software installation at the client place?

Does the C# compiler (csc.exe) come with .NET framework? If so, is there an environment variable for the location?

If you have a project ready and just want to change some code and then build, check out MSBuild which is located in the Microsoft.Net folder under the Windows directory.

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\msbuild "C:\Projects\MyProject.csproj" /p:Configuration=Debug;DeployOnBuild=True;PackageAsSingleFile=False;outdir=C:\Projects\MyProjects\Publish\

(Please do not edit, leave as a single line)

... The line above broken up for readability

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\msbuild "C:\Projects\MyProject.csproj"
/p:Configuration=Debug;DeployOnBuild=True;PackageAsSingleFile=False;
outdir=C:\Projects\MyProjects\Publish\

How to determine which versions and service pack levels of the Microsoft .NET Framework are installed

If you're a Grandma, this is easily:

1

-- Create a .bat file with this:

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\csc.exe csharp.cs
csharp.exe

2

-- Create a .cs file with this:

class Program
{
    public static void Main()
        {
            System.Console.Clear();

            //code...

            System.Console.WriteLine("Congratulation! =D");

            //...code

            System.Console.ReadKey();
        }
}

and run .bat file =)

I would HIGHLY recommend CS-Script. It's a simple installation that allows you to run CS-Files just like batch files (.bat).

Also, it allows you to compile the CS to an EXE file (console or window) from the context menu with a simple click and if you want Visual Studio as an editor, just one click, and it works.

It's really cool, I use it quite often, and I replaced all my "complex" batch scripts with CS-Scripts.

See How to programmatically compile code using the C# compiler.

Write a C# console application which takes two command line parameters: C# source file name and output .exe file name. In this program, open the C# source file, read it to a string and compile it by the way described in the article.

This console program can be used in the script that you need. A stand-alone C# compiler is not required, only the .NET Framework.

An alternative way is to install MonoDevelop or SharpDevelop. You get to use the .NET compilers within a free IDE.

Other than the above it is simply a matter of installing the compilers and using Notepad.

I think you can just install .NET Framework (CLR).

Taken from this post:

The C# compiler (csc.exe) is not part of Visual Studio but comes with the Microsoft.NET framework (on my system it is available at %systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727). Once I discovered the whereabouts of the compiler, compiling the code was a straightforward operation.

Please refer to this guide in order to see how to work with csc: Command-line Building With csc.exe