Can we build *.vcxproj(c++ project) using MSBuild 4.0 without installing the Visual Studio 2010?

[EDN Admin]

Hi All.<br/>
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Can somebody tell me that can we build *.vcxproj (vc++ 2010 project as you know) using MSBuild 4.0 and without installing the VS2010 product?<br/>
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What I have tried were like as follows:<br/>
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1. The build server runs on Windows Server 2003 x64 platform and with dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe installed on it.<br/>
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2. Install the Windows SDK v7.1 which is named as "Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4".<br/>
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For the name, Im really rather confused about it. Its really not a good name for Microsoft Windows SDK v7.1 even if it supports other OS like Windows Server 2003 etc, I think.<br/>
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As the installed SDK version is v7.0a which is shipped with VS2010 together on the development machine. So I install the v7.1 for supporting .net framework 4.0 in order to use msbuild 4.0.<br/>
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3. If I run cmd.exe directly, then it got errors as a popup message (window/dialog) which says as follows:<br/>
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(which it means that I didnt use the windows sdk v7.1 command line tool)<br/>
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CL.exe - Unable To Locate Component<br/>
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This application has failed to start because mspdb100.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.<br/>
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OK <br/>
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4. So I changed to run windows sdk v7.1 command line tool, then it got errors as follows:<br/>
"E:myprojTestCppProj.vcxproj" (Build target) (1) ->(ClCompile target) -> e:myprojstdafx.h(12):
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fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: windows.h: No such file or directory [E:myprojTestCppProj.vcxproj]<br/>
But the file windows.h does exist in the following folders:<br/>
Crogram FilesMicrosoft SDKsWindowsv7.1Include<br/>
Crogram Files (x86)Microsoft Visual Studio 8VCPlatformSDKInclude<br/>
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It seems that the file name in stdafx.h should be Windows.h. <br/>
But it still got error like the above after change windows.h to Windows.h in file stdafx.h.<br/>
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Is there any other things to be installed or need other configurations?<br/>
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5. From its ReleaseNotes_Win7RTMSDK.htm, I didnt find any known issues about it.<br/>
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6. From MSDN online, I searched out some stuff like as follows:<br/>
URL: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd393574.aspx<br/>
[<br/>
The Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) is a platform for building applications. <br/>
MSBuild provides an XML schema for a project file that controls how the build platform processes and builds software.
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Although MSBuild is integrated into Visual Studio, it is not dependent on it. <br/>
Developers can orchestrate and build products in environments where Visual Studio is not installed.
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]<br/>
Im confused that What related components do I need to install for using MSBuild 4.0 without Visual Studio installed.<br/>
just isntall .net framework 4.0? <br/>
And for c++ project, what should be installed if using MSBuild4.0 instead of vcbuild?<br/>
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7. "Visual C++ projects can now use MSBuild scripts, with support for native builds."<br/>
This is from URL: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee240939.aspx.<br/>
Fortunately, We can use MSBuild to build vc++ project directly. So, does it need to install VS2010?<br/>
Unfortunately, I havent found out what related components or files should be installed for this feature.<br/>
Maybe one version of the Windows SDK? Or vc++ redistributable packages or vc++ runtime libs?<br/>
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8. So, on the development machine, there are serveral redistributable packages isntalled:<br/>
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable <br/>
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.4148<br/>
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.4974<br/>
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Designtime - 10.0.30319 <br/>
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Runtime - 10.0.30319<br/>
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Runtime - 10.0.30319<br/>
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And, the Windows SDK version is v7.0a after vs2010 is installed.<br/>
As there is a folder like this:<br/>
Crogram Files (x86)Microsoft SDKsWindowsv7.0A<br/>
So, does this mean the current windows sdk version is v7.0A?<br/>
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9. From MSDN online I also searched out the "MSBuild (Visual C++) Overview"<br/>
URL: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee662426.aspx<br/>
Where there is a paragrah from the top section:<br/>
[<br/>
MSBuild is the standard build system for Visual C++ projects. <br/>
When you build a project in the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE),
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it uses the msbuild.exe tool, an XML-based project file, and optional settings files.
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Although you can use msbuild.exe and a project file on the command line,
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the IDE provides a user interface so that you can more easily configure settings and build a project.
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This overview describes how Visual C++ uses the MSBuild system.<br/>
]<br/>
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So, does it mean that if we wonder to use msbuild to build vc project from comand line, then it also need to install VS2010?<br/>
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For summary about my questions:<br/>
Can somebody tell me that if I want to build vc++ project(*.vcxproj) using MSBuild 4.0 on command line, what components or packages or sdks should be installed instead of installing the VS2010?<br/>
Or, maybe it is impossible to do it without installing VS2010?<br/>
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Thanks

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