Problem:

Can a Visual Studio 2005 solution or project be rebuilt directly from the command line?

In the classical Net Express IDE, there is the utility ProjMake.exe.

Is there a program similar to this for .Net COBOL solutions/projects?

Resolution:

Yes. In the .Net Framework V.2.0, there is the program MSBuild.EXE for this purpose.

The .Net Framework V.2.0 has to be used together with Net Express Version 5.

The program MSBuild.exe is located in a directory similar to:

C:\\WINDOWS\\Microsoft.NET\\Framework\\v2.0.50727

You can rebuild the solution MyApp.sln e.g. by:

MSBuild MyApp.sln /t:Rebuild /p:Configuration=Release

Or a COBOL project by:

MSBuild MyApp.cblproj /t:Rebuild /p:Configuration=Release

For full details of the command line switches for MSBuild, just enter MSBuild /?

For more information, please read also: 64-bit Support in the chapter: Known Errors and Restrictions in COBOL Support for .NET in Net Express Help - Start here! - readme.