Any change in the processing of Exists() between 2.0 and 3.5

Question

Consider an Exist function on an Import element, for instance:

<Import Project="PostSharp-Samples-Src.targets" Condition="Exists('PostSharp-Samples-Src.targets')"/>


Now suppose this Import is in a .targets file, i.e. it is imported for, say, a .csproj, that it in a different directory as the .targets file.

In 2.0, the argument of the Exist method is resolved relatively to the directory of the .targets file, which is the only meaningful to process relative paths in .targets files. However, in 3.5, the same technique (and actually the same code) does not work.

Can anyone give some explanation about this?

Thanks,

-Gael

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Gael Fraiteur -- postsharp.org

Answer 1

I believe we may have broken this in MSBuild 3.5, which is very embarrassing.
All I can suggest is that you somehow use a full path.
Dan -- MSBuild

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developer on msbuild

Answer 2

I verified that this behavior is different between 2.0 and 3.5. I would recommend removing the condition if the file will always be there (note that the import behavior didn't change). In many cases it is preferable to receive an error if the file failed to import.

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