MSBuild will be at the PDC in a big way. We have two talks and one Hands-On-Lab. If you are interested in learning more about MSBuild, you should certainly check them out. I will be giving a talk on MSBuild Tips & Tricks. You will walk out of this talk with some really neat tricks to help you take full control of your build in ways that were previously next to impossible! It's on Tuesday (9/13) at 11:45am. Here's the abstract:
TLNL01 Tips & Tricks: Extending MSBuild with Tasks, Loggers, and Targets
"Building" on the fundamentals of MSBuild, this tips and tricks talk takes you through ten super cool ways you can optimize your build process-from using the MSBuild object model, to adding new types. In the end you'll walk away with a toolbelt full of knowledge that will make your application build process sing!"
Additionally, Rajeev Goel, one of the many super-developers on the MSBuild Team will be doing a deep-dive on advanced MSBuild concepts and patterns, drawing from our own experience of using MSBuild in the build labs for building Visual Studio (yes, large parts of Visual Studio 2005 tree build today using MSBuild!). Rajeev's talk is on Wednesday (9/14) at 5:00pm. Here's the abstract:
TLN402 MSBuild: Architecting a Customized Build System
Push MSBuild and TeamBuild to the extreme. This session teaches you advanced techniques for MSBuild development, including build patterns, best practices, and more. Take an in-depth look at how these practices have been applied in order to build Visual Studio 2005 (including TeamBuild itself!) with MSBuild and TeamBuild.
So come join us to learn about some of the cool features that we love about MSBuild and Visual Studio. Come prepared with the tough questions, and come prepared with criticism. Tell us what you love about the product, and more importantly what you would like to see improved.
See ya at the PDC.
-faisal