XSLTC.EXE MSBuild Task

Question

I have several XSLTs used in my ASP.NET web application. I want these files to be compiled to dll whenever I build the project. Currently, I'm compiling the xslts manually by invoking xsltc.exe from vs2010 tools command prompt.

How can I add msbuild task for xsltc.exe so that it will generate assembly whenevr i build my project?

I'm using .NET 4.0.

Answer 1

<PropertyGroup>
     <WinSDK>C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\Bin</WinSDK>
</PropertyGroup>    
<Target Name="Build">
    <Exec Command="%22$(WinSDK)\xsltc.exe%22 /out:$(OutputPath)\_PublishedWebsites\xyzapp\bin\Xslts.dll /class:ABC %22$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\xyzapp\a.xslt%22 /class:DEF %22$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\xyzapp\b.xslt%22 /class:GHI %22$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\xyzapp\c.xslt%22"/>
</Target>

Answer 2

That works but doesn't really wrap the tool in a MSBuild friendly way. I came up with this (which was good enough to get by).

<!-- The Transform File Names... -->
<ItemGroup>
  <XsltcTransform Include="Transform1.xslt">
    <!-- And the generated .Net Class name. -->
    <Class>Transform1Class</Class>
  </XsltcTransform>
</ItemGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
<!-- Sadly using $(OutDir) MUST come after the Import of CSharp.targets -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <XSLTCOutputDll>$(OutDir)xslts.dll</XSLTCOutputDll>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="FindXSLTC">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <XSLTC>"$(TargetFrameworkSDKToolsDirectory)xsltc.exe"</XSLTC>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Target>
<Target Name="XSLTC" Inputs="@(XsltcTransform)" Outputs="$(XSLTCOutputDll)"   DependsOnTargets="FindXSLTC">
  <Exec Command="$(XSLTC) /out:&quot;$(XSLTCOutputDll)&quot; @(XsltcTransform -> ' /class:%(Class) %(FullPath) ')" />
</Target>
<Target Name="BeforeResolveReferences" DependsOnTargets="XSLTC">
</Target>

These targets will let you compile multiple transforms into one DLL. Running XSLTC before "BeforeResolveRefereneces" is necessary so that you can have an assembly reference to the generated DLL.