Can't Exclude Files From Project

[MelbourneDeveloper]

In the xproj format, you can't exclude files from being compiled. I know that the xproj format is going to get dumped, but this problem needs to be fixed in the new version of the csproj format. Meanwhile, it is still a major problem for ASP.Net Core. This problem coupled with the inability to link files in from another project means that sharing .cs files across platforms is virtually impossible without manually managing files with source control, or batch files.

This is a continuation from this issue because the original repo is now defunct:
aspnet/dnx#3033 (comment)

[smbecker]

Why can't you use the project.json support for include/exclude to control what files are considered for compilation?

[MelbourneDeveloper]

I would love to. How do I do that?

[MelbourneDeveloper]

After you mentioned it, I found this in project.json

There is some obscure exclude option there, but it's deprecated, and there is a repo issue to go along with it:
aspnet/dnx#1067

[MelbourneDeveloper]

There seems to be a "copyToOutput" element under "buildOptions". Does that imply that we're going to be pushed toward a system where files are copied in to the build folder before a compile is done? If so, that's pretty nuts. Why not just allow the linking in of files from other source directories?

[smbecker]

aspnet/Announcements#175

[MelbourneDeveloper]

It doesn't work. I tried adding these, but the excludeFiles element does nothing:

{
"version": "1.0.0-*",

"dependencies": {
"NETStandard.Library": "1.5.0-rc2-24027",
"XivicModelAssembliesStandard": "1.0.0"
},

"frameworks": {
"netstandard1.5": {
"imports": "dnxcore50"
}
},
"buildOptions": {
"copyToOutput": {
"exclude": [ "Class.cs" ],
"excludeFiles": [ "Class.cs" ]
}
}
}

Neither the exclude, or excludeFiles element seem to do anything.

[MelbourneDeveloper]

I'll create a sample app.

[MelbourneDeveloper]

Here is a sample app that demonstrates that this either does not work, or I'm missing something:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/79781769/Sample%20Apps/ExcludeFileSample.zip

[MelbourneDeveloper]

Either way, the tooling should work through the front end. We shouldn't have to fool around editing text files to use the tools. The tool's UI should be taking care of this for us.

[MelbourneDeveloper]

BTW: The above sample is a .NET Core class library, but it's the same problem with ASP.NET Core projects. It's a problem with the xproj format.

[MelbourneDeveloper]

My bad. This works!

"buildOptions": {
"compile": {
"excludeFiles": [ "Class1.cs" ],
"exclude": ["Excluded"]
}
}

[smbecker]

As the announcement shows, the exclude property should be inside of the compile block.

{
  "buildOptions":
  {
    "compile":
    {
      "exclude": []
    }
  }
}

[MelbourneDeveloper]

Here is the working sample:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/79781769/Sample%20Apps/ExcludeFileSample2.zip

[MelbourneDeveloper]

OK, so first of all, why are we getting told about this kind of functionality through an announcement on a repo I'd never heard of up until today? I do understand that you work in a team that does a very specific job, but as a user of Visual Studio, I am totally ignorant of how your teams and projects are separated. I've been looking for an answer to this question for weeks, and have posted all over GitHub, and MSDN Forums to find this particular answer. You have no idea how much time I've spent looking for this answer.