How to compile the source code?

[Darfka]

Hi! I was wondering if there was a proper way to recompile the project? I'm quite the newbie when it come to these things. Thank!

PS: It could be a good idea to include it in the readme markdown file.

[Darfka]

I think I found how. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1. Open the main folder in Visual Studio
2. Go into the CLI folder and open CLI.csproj
3. Choose "Release|x86" instead of "Debug|x86"
4. Generate the solution (shortcut: F6)

Then you can find the application in CLI -> Bin -> Release.

[NaturalDocs]

Pretty much. I have to create a developer's guide for the web site at some point.

• Create a Visual Studio solution. Using the free Visual Studio Express is fine.
• Download the CLI and Engine folders of the source and add their .csproj files to the solution.
  • They should both be subfolders of the same parent folder
  • You don't need the Tests folders unless you want to run the unit tests
• Compile and run with CLI as the startup project.
  • It should automatically copy the resources it needs like the Config, Translations, and Styles folders.

[Parsley-Sage]

Hi
I was trying to compile NaturalDocs on Linux with mono tools. I was able to do it with command:

xbuild /property:Configuration=Release /property:TargetDir='../../build/' /property:OperatingSystemTarget=Unix CLI/CLI.csproj

However I had to patch .targets files to make it work:
https://gist.github.com/Parsley-Sage/f797aaac222e44b23e8d1ce4cc70a43c
The problem was with 'xcopy' command which is not present in Linux.
I'm not sure if that's the correct way to do it and I have no way to try my changes with Visual Studio. If you're interested in these updates I can create a pull request.
Thanks!

[jfritsche1]

I'm having a problem getting them to compile too. I posted a question on stackoverflow: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/59828225/naturaldocs-source-code-not-building-in-vs-2015
I ensured they are in the same folder, and that they are in correct build dependency order.
Do you know what I might be missing?
Thank you!

[NaturalDocs]

According to the error message on the Stack Overflow question, Visual Studio 2015 is having problems with a newer C# syntax element. It doesn't like me using:

FunctionCall(out string variableName);

instead of:

string variableName;
FunctionCall(out variableName);

VS 2017 and 2019 handle it fine. Since that's the only place that appears (I think) I changed it to the old style and pushed it. Pull the new changes and try again.

[NaturalDocs]

I realize I never responded to the xcopy comment. There was a commit in April 2019 that detects when it's not on Windows and swaps out xcopy for cp.

[jfritsche1]

Oh, ok. Works great. Thank you!

[jayvdb]

I ran

xbuild /property:Configuration=Release /property:TargetDir='../../build/' /property:OperatingSystemTarget=Unix CLI/CLI.csproj
and CLI/bin/Release/NaturalDocs.exe popped out.

Would be good to add this type of info to the README until a proper developer guide can be written.

[tymonx]

It is quiet easy to build it from container (Podman or Docker):

podman run -it --rm --workdir "$(pwd)" --volume "$(pwd):$(pwd):rw,z" --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" --userns keep-id \
    mono msbuild /p:Configuration=Release ./CLI/CLI.csproj

And generated binary is ready to use from the ./CLI/bin/Release/ location.