I have a project that is called framework and I have modules projects which depends on this framework project.
The problem is: Some developers on my team will have this framework code and others won't. I want to know if there is a way that if Visual Studio doesn't find this reference, it will automatically get this frameworks libs from nuget package.
You could use Conditions to include the project only if it does exist:
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\Framework\Framework.csproj" Condition="Exists('..\..\Framework\Framework.csproj')" />
<PackageReference Include="MyCompany.Framework" Version="1.0.0" Condition="!Exists('..\..\Framework\Framework.csproj')" />
You have two options to reference other projects:
Project References
This is typically done using a monorepo approach and most times all projects are part of the same solution.
If you want to reference projects from other repositories, Git sub modules may be an option https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Submodules
Project references look like this in your my-project.csproj file:
<ProjectReference Include="..\..\Modules\Core\Core.csproj" />
NuGet Packages
Here you build your framework and publish it as NuGet package. Then you reference the package (not the project) when needed and Visual Studio will download the specified version from your NuGet repository.
Two options to setup your own NuGet repository:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/artifacts/get-started-nuget?view=azure-devops
https://www.sonatype.com/nexus-repository-oss
You can also use NuGet packages from local file system How do I install a NuGet package .nupkg file locally? (personally I'd not recommend this for most scenarios)
Reference NuGet packages in your my-project.csproj file:
<PackageReference Include="Serilog.AspNetCore" Version="3.4.0" />
Or using visual studios package manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/quickstart/install-and-use-a-package-in-visual-studio
Note that you have to add your NuGet repository feed first: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/artifacts/nuget/consume?view=azure-devops
See also
Is it possible to reference a project that exists in the solution and use NuGet package reference as fall-back if not in .NET Core?
Related
I want to consume managed nuget package in c++/cli project. Is there a way to do that?
For example my scenario is almost like this:
I have created a C# project(MainProject) and added EntityFramework nuget package to that project.
I have created one more C# project(TestCSProject) and added MainProject as reference to that project. Then automatically in references entityframework is also added
I have created one C++/CLI project(TestCLIProject) and added MainProject as reference to that project so that I want to see whether I can use entityframework.
But that didnt happened.
So I want to know how can I use managed nuget package in c++/cli project
C++/CLI project can use nuget packages using packages.config (in VS2019 still there is no PackageReference support for C++, PackageReference for NuGet packages in C++ projects). As pointed in the comments, C++/CLI should be used for interop with native code only. Anyway there may be a need sometime to use nuget packages here.
In Visual Studio 2019 the following worked for me for a C++ project referencing .Net Framework:
Go to package manager console: Tools -> NuGet Package Manager -> Package Manager Console. Then install nuget package(s) (instruction from Microsoft). E.g. EF nuget installation could be like:
Install-Package EntityFramework -Version 6.4.4 -ProjectName TestCLIProject
After nuget installation a packages.config file will be created in the project's folder and added to the project. E.g. after EF nuget installation packages.config could be like:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<packages>
<package id="EntityFramework" version="6.4.4" targetFramework="native" />
</packages>
Add reference(s) to dll(s) from the nuget. Project -> Add Reference... -> Browse... -> locate solution's folder -> go to packages folder -> go to nuget's folder -> locate dll(s)
For example for EF this resulted as .vcxproj was updated with:
<Reference Include="EntityFramework">
<HintPath>..\packages\EntityFramework.6.4.4\lib\net45\EntityFramework.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
<Reference Include="EntityFramework.SqlServer">
<HintPath>..\packages\EntityFramework.6.4.4\lib\net45\EntityFramework.SqlServer.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>
Project is ready for build. If Visual Studio has opted out Tools -> Options -> NuGet Package Manager -> Automatically check for missing packages during build in Visual Studio, then nugets could be manually restored e.g. in Package Manager Console with Update-Package command.
With the newest Version of VS2022 (Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3) you can now as well use PackageReference in your C++/CLI project. Just make sure you have added
<EnableManagedPackageReferenceSupport>true</EnableManagedPackageReferenceSupport>
to the PropertyGroup with Label="Globals" in your .vcxproj file. Furthermore please be aware that your C++/CLI project must be targeting .NET Core or .NET 5+. As you can read in the Release notes this doesn't work (and neither is it planned to be supported in the future) for C++/CLI projects targeting .NET Framework.
With this enabled you can now also use the NuGet Package Manager by
In Solution Explorer, right-click "References" and
choose "Manage NuGet Packages"
just like it is described in the Microsoft documentation.
I have came across this line of code in a code and its quite confusing
One of my client send a dependancy file that contains
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="xyzrefrence" Version="1.3.0" />
and said it is console application. I created same kind of application but within packages.config
I found this thing
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<packages>
<package id="xyz" version="1.7.7.7" targetFramework="net452" />
My question is that where the dependacy file located with the client setting(First settings)
The reference (<ItemGroup><PackageReference.....) to the dependency can be
found by editing the Visual Studio project file. *.csproj
The dependency file itself can be found in your project's /bin/debug or /bin/release folders.
Where is PackageReference located in console application C#
There are two nuget mamangement format(Packages.config and PackageReference) to intall nuget packages.
In fact, PackageReference is a new nuget management format for new sdk projects(net standard and net core) since VS2017 while Packages.config is an old tranitional nuget management format for net framework projects.
However, you should note that for traditional framework projects, Microsoft made a concession to use the new SDK's pacakgeReference format, but there are still various compatibility issues.--------(net frameowork projects can use both of them while net core/net standard projects can only use PackageReference).
If you use a net framework project, you can change these two format before you install nuget packages at the beginning by Tools-->Options-->NuGet Package Manager-->General-->Package Management.
And you should specifiy this format before you install the first nuget package at the beginning and when you specify this format, the nugets you install later will use this method by default and cannot be changed.
My question is that where the dependacy file located with the client
setting(First settings)
1) If you use a net framework console project with PackageReference, l am afraid that you cannnot see the depenencies of the nuget. The old sdk projects with PackageReference does not support showing the depenencies of the nuget packages due to several compatibility issues.
2) If you use a net core console project, you can see the dependencies in the Solution Explorer and the latest new sdk projects does support this. It has a new behavior that you can see every nuget package's depenencies under its branch in the Soluton Explorer.
Besides, since you use a framework project with packages.config, you can only see all of them(the premise is that this nuget package has dependencies.) in the packages.config file or in the xxxx.csproj file but it cannot subdivide dependencies for every nuget package.
In additon, if you still want to show the depenencies of the net framework projects with PackageReference, l suggest you could post a feature request in our User Voice forum(DC)-suggest a feature to get Micorosft's attention.
I have a question so that I can better understand NuGet packages, packages.config and the .csproj file.
It is my understanding that the setting in the NuGet Package Manager >> General for default package management format determines if your project uses packages.config or the .csproj file for resolving and restoring packages.
In my project we have selected Packages.config.
No problem it compiles and runs. So I decided to test if it would run without the reference for a dll in the .csproj file, as it is my understanding it does not use or need this. This is an incorrect assumption as though the package is in the packages.config file, when I removed the reference in the .csproj file there was an error in my project and the project would not compile.
I also noticed that if the dll is not in the references in the Solution Explorer that it fails to compile as well I( I assume these are the .csproj references).
So I am not clear on the role of the .csproj file for a Packages.config Management format for NuGet packages and the references in Solution Explorer.
The difference is on how you manage your NuGet references.
Before VS2017 the information what NuGet packages to be used during assembly was stored in files packages.config.
Since VS2017 there is a new option called package references which stores this information in the project (.csproj) file.
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/nuget/migrate-packages-config-to-package-reference/
Before VS2017 and .NET Core, NuGet was not deeply integrated into MSBuild so it needed a separate mechanism to list dependencies in a project: packages.config or project.json. Using Visual Studio solution explorer's References context menu, developer adds .csproj references to restored packages in a solution-wide folder managed by NuGet.
The reference added to the project file .csproj by Visual Studio looks like this:
<Reference Include="EntityFramework, Version=6.0.0.0"><HintPath>..\packages\EntityFramework.6.4.4\lib\net45\EntityFramework.dll</HintPath></Reference>
Starting with VS2017 and .NET Core, NuGet becomes a first class citizen in MSBuild. NuGet package dependencies are now listed as PackageReference in the SDK-style project file .csproj
A reference now looks like this:
<PackageReference Include="EntityFramework" Version="6.4.4" />
I encountered a solution (.Net Full framework) Where there are no package.config in the solution and Feeds coming from In house Nuget servers.
Where list of packages are maintained, if not in Package.Config?
Where is the list of packages are maintained, if not in Package.Config?
First, you should make sure you have that solution have already installed the nuget package, once you install a package, NuGet will add Package.Config file to your project to record the dependency in either your project file or a packages.config file.
If you confirm that your solution has a nuget package installed, but there is no Package.Config file, your nuget package should use another management method: PackageReference
Edit your project, you will find following PackageReference list:
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Contoso.Utility.UsefulStuff" Version="3.6.0" />
</ItemGroup>
See NuGet is now fully integrated into MSBuild for more details:
In the past, NuGet packages were managed in two different ways -
packages.config and project.json - each with their own sets of
advantages and limitations. With Visual Studio 2017 and .NET Core, we
have improved the NuGet package management experience by introducing
the PackageReference feature in MSBuild. PackageReference brings new
and improved capabilities such as deep MSBuild integration, improved
performance for everyday tasks such as install and restore,
multi-targeting and more.
The packages.config file could be somewhere else? In that case look in your msbuild project file (i.e. *.csproj, *.vbproj, *.vcxproj) and see where the references to that nuget assembly are coming from. Then look in that directory for the packages.config file. It might be more complicated than that, in which case, it's useful to do a global search for packages.config in your repo, to see where they reside (If they do exist at all).
This is a common practice: To have one project specify the nuget package, and all the other projects borrow it. As Jon said, this is really dependent on how the folks at your company and department set up your builds and dependencies.
Currently I have a requirement where we have separate assemblies for contract and implementation. After creating a nuget package and attempting to consume nuget package, it fails because Package manager is unable to find dependent (contract) assembly.
This seems to be an open issue in .net core.
https://github.com/dotnet/cli/issues/3959
Unable to understand why such simple thing will not work in .net core. Looking for workaround for this issue.
It is simple to solve. You have 2 options:
A) Pack and Publish all your projects as Nuget packages:
You just add your dependencies as ProjectReference into your main projects. And continue development using project references. Also must pack all dependency projects as well. When you want to publish your packages using the same version just run:
dotnet pack -p:PackageVersion=2.1.0 also can add any other pack arguments.
Since during pack all ProjectReference will be transformed to Package dependencies. And version number is cascading into all package.
In this case your original main project and all of its dependencies will be Nuget packaged. Now you have to publish ALL. And when you want to install your Nuget package it will install all of its dependencies as well with the same version specified.
B) Package all output DLLs into a single Nuget package:
You can Publish only one Project as Nuget package and pack all other DLL into that package. First suppress pack to transform dependency from Project to Package. Find your ProjectReference and add PrivateAssets="All" to it. Should look like this:
<ProjectReference Include="yourproj.csproj" PrivateAssets="All" />
And add the following section to your .csproj file (to the project which should be packaged) to package dependency DLLs, change the DLL name and Framework version in <PackagePath>.
<ItemGroup>
<_PackageFiles Include="$(OutputPath)\yourproj.dll">
<BuildAction>None</BuildAction>
<PackagePath>lib\net5.0</PackagePath>
</_PackageFiles>
</ItemGroup>
After reading documentation I understood .net core discourages project reference instead advises to use package reference. This is mentioned in description heading in following doc.
https://github.com/dotnet/docs/blob/master/docs/core/tools/dotnet-pack.md
I published my contract assembly to nuget package and consumed it in implementation as nuget package.