MSBuild: What is it, and when do I need it?

Question

I seem to have missed Day 1 of MsBuild 101. I find myself asking \"What does it do, what does it replace, and when do I need it?\" since I can just hit F5 and compile my a

Answer 1

I know this is pretty stale, but here's my take on MSBuild.

It's a scriptable build tool really similar to ANT. They both use XML for configuration, so you'll be able to figure it out fairly quickly. Both have the concept of "Targets" for instance, lots more similarities in thinking, if you know ANT the switch shouldn't be tough.

MSBuild files generated from Visual Studio is really like the generated ANT scripts you get from Eclipse that build your projects, remember your includes and define your dependencies. You can modify them directly for fun and profit.

I like MSBuild, it fixes some of the stuff I find annoying about ANT.