Build System Overview

Introduction

The Krypton Toolkit Suite uses a sophisticated MSBuild-based build system designed for Windows environments. The build system supports multiple release channels, target frameworks, and automated CI/CD workflows.

Key Features

  • Multi-Channel Builds: Support for Stable, Canary, Nightly, Debug, and Installer configurations
  • Multi-Target Framework: Builds for .NET Framework 4.7.2-4.8.1, .NET 8-10 Windows
  • Automated Versioning: Date-based semantic versioning (Major.YY.MM.DayOfYear)
  • NuGet Package Creation: Automated package generation with configuration-specific metadata
  • Archive Generation: Creates ZIP and TAR.GZ distribution archives
  • CI/CD Integration: Full GitHub Actions workflow support
  • Modern Build Tool: Optional Terminal UI tool for interactive builds

Build System Components

1. MSBuild Project Files (.proj)

Located in Scripts/:

  • Scripts/Build/build.proj - Stable/Release builds
  • canary.proj - Beta pre-release builds
  • nightly.proj - Alpha nightly builds
  • debug.proj - Debug builds
  • installer.proj - Installer-specific builds

2. Windows Command Scripts (.cmd)

Located in Scripts/:

  • Scripts/VS2022/build-stable.cmd - Build stable releases (or run.cmd for interactive menu)
  • build-canary.cmd - Build canary releases
  • build-nightly.cmd - Build nightly releases
  • buildsolution.cmd - Interactive solution builder
  • purge.cmd - Clean build artifacts
  • publish.cmd - Publish packages to NuGet

3. Directory.Build Files

  • Directory.Build.props (root) - Global build properties and versioning
  • Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.props - Component-specific properties
  • Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.targets - Component-specific targets

4. GitHub Actions Workflows

Located in .github/workflows/:

  • build.yml - CI builds for pull requests and branches
  • release.yml - Production releases for multiple branches
  • nightly.yml - Automated nightly releases with change detection

5. ModernBuild Tool

Located in Scripts/ModernBuild/:

  • Modern Terminal UI tool for interactive builds
  • Supports all build configurations and NuGet operations
  • Real-time build output and logging

Build Configurations

Configuration Overview

Configuration Purpose Package Suffix Target Audience
Release Stable production releases None or .Lite Production users
Canary Beta pre-releases .Canary (with -beta tag) Early adopters
Nightly Alpha nightly builds .Nightly (with -alpha tag) Developers/testers
Debug Development debugging N/A Local development
Installer Demo installer packages .Installer Demo/installer use

Target Frameworks (TFMs)

The build system supports multiple target framework monikers:

  • Full Framework: net472, net48, net481
  • .NET: net8.0-windows, net9.0-windows, net10.0-windows, net11.0-windows

Two packaging modes:

  • Lite (TFMs=lite): Latest frameworks only (net48, net481, net8.0+)
  • All (TFMs=all): All supported frameworks

Directory Structure

Standard-Toolkit/
├── Scripts/              # Build scripts and project files
│   ├── *.cmd            # Windows batch scripts
│   ├── *.proj           # MSBuild project files
│   └── ModernBuild/     # Modern build tool
├── Source/
│   └── Krypton Components/
│       ├── Krypton.Toolkit/
│       ├── Krypton.Ribbon/
│       ├── Krypton.Navigator/
│       ├── Krypton.Workspace/
│       └── Krypton.Docking/
├── Bin/                 # Build outputs
│   ├── Debug/
│   ├── Release/
│   ├── Canary/
│   ├── Nightly/
│   └── Packages/        # NuGet packages
├── Logs/                # Build logs
└── Documents/
    └── Workflows/       # Build documentation

Build Outputs

Binary Outputs

Location: Bin/<Configuration>/

Each configuration produces outputs for all target frameworks in separate subdirectories:

  • net472/, net48/, net481/
  • net8.0-windows/, net9.0-windows/, net10.0-windows/, net11.0-windows/

NuGet Packages

Location: Bin/Packages/<Configuration>/

Generated packages:

  • Krypton.Toolkit[.Suffix].<version>.nupkg
  • Krypton.Ribbon[.Suffix].<version>.nupkg
  • Krypton.Navigator[.Suffix].<version>.nupkg
  • Krypton.Workspace[.Suffix].<version>.nupkg
  • Krypton.Docking[.Suffix].<version>.nupkg
  • Symbol packages: *.snupkg (for Canary and Nightly)

Distribution Archives

Location: Bin/<Configuration>/Zips/

Generated archives:

  • Krypton-<Channel>_<yyyyMMdd>.zip
  • Krypton-<Channel>_<yyyyMMdd>.tar.gz

Prerequisites

Required Software

  1. Windows 10/11

    • Long paths must be enabled for local builds

  2. Visual Studio 2022

    • Any edition: Preview, Enterprise, Professional, Community, or BuildTools
    • Required workload: .NET desktop development

  3. .NET SDKs

    • .NET Framework 4.7.2-4.8.1 developer packs
    • .NET 8.0 SDK (minimum)
    • .NET 9.0 SDK (recommended)
    • .NET 10.0 SDK (optional, for latest builds)

  4. NuGet CLI (for package publishing)

Optional Software

  • 7-Zip - For creating TAR.GZ archives
  • Git - For source control and automated workflows

Common Build Tasks

Build Debug (Local Development)

cd Scripts
build-stable.cmd Build

or

dotnet build "Source/Krypton Components/Krypton Toolkit Suite 2022 - VS2022.sln" -c Debug

Build Release

cd Scripts
build-stable.cmd Build

Build and Pack Release

cd Scripts
msbuild build.proj /t:Build
msbuild build.proj /t:Pack

Build Nightly

cd Scripts
build-nightly.cmd Build

Clean Build Artifacts

cd Scripts
purge.cmd

Create Distribution Archives

cd Scripts
msbuild build.proj /t:CreateAllReleaseArchives

Build System Workflow

  1. Configuration Selection: Choose build configuration (Debug, Release, Canary, Nightly)
  2. Version Calculation: Automatic version generation based on current date
  3. Project Restore: NuGet package restoration for all projects
  4. Compilation: Multi-target compilation for all frameworks
  5. Package Creation: NuGet package generation with metadata
  6. Archive Generation: Optional ZIP/TAR.GZ archive creation
  7. Publishing: Optional push to NuGet.org or GitHub Packages

Next Steps

For detailed information about specific aspects of the build system:

Additional Resources