Скачать или смотреть How to Conditionally Include References in Directory.Build.props Based on Project Name

Learn how to exclude circular dependencies in your .NET projects by conditionally including references in Directory.Build.props using project properties.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/68055414/ asked by the user 'lonix' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/9971404/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/68222795/ provided by the user 'The Chairman' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/38029/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Conditional References in Directory.Build.props

In the world of .NET development, managing project dependencies effectively is key to maintaining a healthy codebase. One common scenario developers encounter is the need to include certain project references while avoiding circular dependencies. This post addresses a situation where you want your projects to reference a common library without causing errors due to self-referencing.

The Problem

Imagine you have a directory structure as follows:

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In this setup, the Common project serves as a shared library that you want all other projects (Project1, Project2, and Project3) to reference. To do this, you add the following line to your Directory.Build.props:

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However, this leads to an error:

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The issue occurs because the Common project is referencing itself, resulting in a circular dependency. So, how can we exclude the Common project from this reference conditionally?

The Solution

Step 1: Identify a Characteristic Property

To conditionally include references, you can use a project property to differentiate between the Common project and the others. A good candidate is the <RootNamespace> property defined in the Common.csproj file.

Here is an example of what the Common.csproj might look like:

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Step 2: Rewrite the Project Reference

With the characteristic property identified, you can rewrite the project reference in the Directory.Build.props to conditionally include the Common project based on the <RootNamespace> value. Your updated reference should look like this:

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What this does is check the RootNamespace of the current project. If it is not Common, the ProjectReference is included; otherwise, it is excluded, preventing the circular dependency.

Conclusion

By using properties in your project files, you can effectively manage dependencies in your .NET solutions and avoid issues like circular references. This approach not only keeps your build process clean but also allows for greater flexibility as your projects evolve.

Feel free to implement this conditional reference strategy in your projects and enjoy a smoother development experience!