Build Tools cleanup

[jozefizso]

The BuildTools folder contains some utilities which were used in the era of targeting multiple .NET Frameworks.

We should cleanup the folder and remove unnecessary tools from it.

[jozefizso]

BuildTools Analysis

I've analyzed the BuildTools folder and found the following tools:

1. VersionUpdater

• Purpose: Updates .NET Framework version in project files (.csproj, .vbproj, .sln) from versions 2.0 to 4.5
• Functionality:
  • Changes TargetFrameworkVersion
  • Updates tools version entries
  • Modifies strong-name key files for different .NET versions
  • Updates solution file formats
• Last modified: 2016

2. SourceUpdater

• Purpose: Appears to update source files in bulk
• Functionality: References .svn folders (Subversion), indicating very old codebase migration tool
• Last modified: 2016

3. SearchAndReplace

• Purpose: Bulk text search and replace across source files
• Functionality: Simple find/replace tool with folder selection
• Last modified: 2016

4. ReferenceAnalyzer

• Purpose: Analyzes project references and generates XML reports
• Functionality: Parses project files and outputs reference information
• Last modified: 2013-2014, with updates in 2016

Recommendation: Remove All Tools

Why they're obsolete:

1. Modern project format: NetOffice now uses SDK-style projects (.csproj with <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">)
2. Single target framework: All projects target net462 (defined in NetOffice.props:34)
3. No usage found: No references in:
   • Build scripts (PowerShell, Bash)
   • CI/CD configuration (YAML files)
   • Documentation (Markdown files)
   • Git commit messages (last meaningful use was ~2013-2016)
4. Modern alternatives exist:
   • Visual Studio handles project migrations automatically
   • MSBuild has built-in multi-targeting support
   • Modern IDEs provide better search/replace functionality
   • NuGet and dependency analysis tools are far superior

Proposed Action:

git rm -r BuildTools/

This will remove:

• BuildTools/ReferenceAnalyzer/
• BuildTools/SearchAndReplace/
• BuildTools/SourceUpdater/
• BuildTools/VersionUpdater/
• BuildTools/NOBuildTools.sln
• BuildTools/Lib/

These tools served their purpose during the era when NetOffice supported multiple .NET Framework versions (2.0-4.5), but are no longer needed in the modern codebase.