63 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
63 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
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Introduction to .NET Core CLI
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=============================
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The .NET Core CLI is a simple, extensible and standalone set of tools for building, managing and otherwise operating on .NET projects. It will or already includes commands such as compilation, NuGet package management and launching a debugger session. It is intended to be fully featured, enabling extensive library and app development functionality appropriate at the command-line. It should provide everything you'd need to develop an app in an SSH session! It is also intended to be a fundamental building block for building finished experiences in tools such as Visual Studio.
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Goals:
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- Language agnostic - embrace "common language runtime".
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- Target agnostic - multi-targets.
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- Simple extensibility and layering - "you had one job!"
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- Cross-platform - support and personality.
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- Semantic user interface over [MSBuild](https://github.com/Microsoft/msbuild).
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Experience
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==========
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The [.NET Core command-line tools](https://github.com/dotnet/cli) present the "dotnet" tool as the entry-point tool. It provides higher-level commands, often using multiple tools together to complete a task. It's a convenience wrapper over the other tools, which can also be used directly. "dotnet" isn't magical at all, but a very simple aggregator of other tools.
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You can get a sense of using the tools from the examples below.
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**dotnet restore**
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`dotnet restore` restores dependent package from a given NuGet feed (e.g. NuGet.org) for the project in scope.
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**dotnet run**
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`dotnet run` compiles and runs your app with one step.
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**dotnet build**
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`dotnet build` compiles your app or library as an IL binary.
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Design
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======
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There are a couple of moving pieces that you make up the general design of the .NET Core CLI:
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* The `dotnet` driver
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* Specific commands that are part of the package
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The `dotnet` driver is very simple and its primary role is to run commands and give users basic information about usage.
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The way the `dotnet` driver finds the command it is instructed to run using `dotnet {command}` is via a convention; any executable that is placed in the PATH and is named `dotnet-{command}` will be available to the driver. For example, when you install the CLI toolchain there will be an executable called `dotnet-build` in your PATH; when you run `dotnet build`, the driver will run the `dotnet-build` executable. All of the arguments following the command are passed to the command being invoked. So, in the invocation of `dotnet build --native`, the `--native` switch will be passed to `dotnet-build` executable that will do some action based on it (in this case, produce a single native binary).
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Adding a new command to the .NET Core CLI
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=========================================
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If you want to contribute to the actual .NET Core CLI by adding a new command that you think would be useful, please refer to the [developer guide](developer-guide.md) in this directory. It contains all of the guidance on both the process as well as the infrastructure that you need to adhere to when adding a new command to the CLI toolchain.
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After you familiarize yourself with the process of working with the source code in the repo, please consult the [CLI UX guidelines](cli-ux-guidelines.md) to get to know the user experience tenants the CLI has.
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Adding a new command locally
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============================
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If you wish to extend the CLI, you can read more about supported extensibility models in the [official extensibility document](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/articles/core/tools/extensibility)/.
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Guidance on how to write a command
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==================================
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How you write a given command depends largely on whether you are trying to add it to the CLI project or want to add the command locally, that is on your machine or server.
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For the former case, the [developer guide](developer-guide.md) has all of the details that you will need to get going.
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If you are adding a command on your own machine(s), then there is really no special model to keep in mind. However, since your users will be using the local commands through the `dotnet` driver, we strongly suggest to keep to the principles outlined in the [CLI UX guidelines](cli-ux-guidelines.md) to have an unified user experience for your users.
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