msbuild - how to do task batching (same project) in parallel

In MSBuild, you can perform task batching (also known as target batching) to execute tasks in parallel for a set of items. This can help improve the build performance, especially for tasks that are independent of each other.

Here's how you can achieve task batching in parallel within the same project file:

1. Define the items you want to batch and the tasks you want to run in parallel.
2. Use the MSBuild task along with the BuildInParallel property to enable parallel execution.

Here's an example:

xmlCopy code
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">

  <ItemGroup>

    <!-- Define items to be processed in parallel -->

    <FilesToProcess Include="File1.cs;File2.cs;File3.cs" />

  </ItemGroup>



  <Target Name="BatchAndParallelTasks">

    <!-- Set BuildInParallel property to true -->

    <MSBuild Projects="$(MSBuildThisFile)" Targets="ProcessFile"

             Properties="FilesToProcess=%(FilesToProcess.Identity);BuildInParallel=true" />

  </Target>



  <Target Name="ProcessFile">

    <!-- Your processing tasks here, using $(FilesToProcess) -->

    <Message Text="Processing file: %(FilesToProcess.Identity)" />

  </Target>

</Project>

In this example, the BatchAndParallelTasks target uses the MSBuild task to execute the ProcessFile target for each file in parallel. The BuildInParallel property is set to true to enable parallel processing.

Keep in mind that not all tasks are suitable for parallel execution, especially tasks that might have dependencies or interact with shared resources. You should carefully test and monitor the performance impact of parallelization on your specific build scenario.