Introduction
Over two years ago I discovered this deficiency of VS.NET IDE � lack of preprocessing for C# sources. At that time the solution was quickly found, and the palette of tools has grown since then.
Attached archive contains four code generators (with their custom tool names):
- C preprocessor- �codegens.pp� to use MS compiler CL, or �codegens.cpp� for CPP (usually found in GNU tools packages like Cygwin).
- PERL- �codegens.perl� (get installed as ActivePerl or via Cygwin).
- Spawned process- �codegens.spawn�.
- XSLT transformed XML- �codegens.xslt�.
Using the code
Simply register a pre-built assembly with �regasm/codebase codegens.dll� and you�re ready to use the custom tools.
I recommend you to start with samples.sln, which features all of the codegens.
Use is as easy as changing the �Build Action� to �Content� in file properties and typing in the desired codegen name (as listed above) in the �Custom Tool� field.
Background
Much of the IDE integration details were covered by BaseCodeGeneratorWithSite posted back on gotdotnet.com.
