Deploying .NET Applications Learning MSBuild and ClickOnce

This book covers two important aspects of the software life cycle: build and deployment. The coverage of these crucial topics is only half the attraction of this book, though. The other half is the technologies covered: MSBuild and ClickOnce. What Is MSBuild? Previously the build process that Visual Studio followed was basically a black box and was d- ficult to customize. With the arrival of Visual Studio 2005 and .NET 2.0 comes the arrival of the Microsoft Build Engine, otherwise known as MSBuild. MSBuild is the utility that Visual Studio uses to build your managed (C#, VB .NET, and J#) projects. MSBuild is an XML-based build engine and a tool that has been developed with customizability and extensibility in mind from its conception. By using MSBuild, you can change how your projects are built, creating customi- tions to fit your needs. With the advent of MSBuild, you no longer have to rely on third-party tools to handle the custom aspects of building your application. In addition, not only is this approach supported by Microsoft, but it is completely integrated with Visual Studio. If you need to tweak the settings for the C# compiler or how resources are generated, you now have this ability. The entire build process is open, and you can customize it in any way necessary. With other third-party tools this is simply unachievable.