MakefileBuild Visual Studio Extension

Overview

The MakefileBuild Visual Studio Extension adds functionality to Visual Studio to open and build Makefiles. The extension provides a command that can be triggered to build the active Makefile in the editor, using make.exe found in the system PATH.

Features

• Open Makefiles: Recognize Makefiles in the Visual Studio environment.
• Build Makefiles: Execute the make command to build the Makefile.
• Output Window Integration: Displays build output and errors in the Visual Studio Output window.

Prerequisites

To use this extension, you need to have the GNU build tools installed on your system. Ensure make.exe is available in your system PATH.

Installation

To install the extension:

1. Clone this repository.
2. Open the solution in Visual Studio.
3. Build the solution to produce the .vsix file.
4. Run the .vsix file to install the extension into Visual Studio.

Usage

1. Open a Makefile in Visual Studio.
2. Ensure make.exe is available in your system PATH.
3. Trigger the MakeCommand from the command palette.

Code Explanation

The core functionality is implemented in the MakeCommand class:

• Initialization: The InitializeAsync method sets up the command and output window.
• Execute Command: The Execute method retrieves the active Makefile, identifies make.exe in the system PATH, and runs the make command.
• Output Handling: Standard output and error from the make command are captured and displayed in the Visual Studio Output window.