why compiling Console project with Build / Publish?

Valerie Meunier

Hi,

A Console (or windows forms) project can be compiled via menu Build / Publish ... in Visual Studio (2019). But in directory Bin / Debug on disc of the project, there is already an .exe file (e.g. myproject.exe). The method (Publish) must be installed, creates more files (. exe, .application, autorun.inf ...) and cannot be moved easely on disc. So why should i use Buid /Publish whereas i have already an .exe file which can be moved eveywhere ? Is there a difference between both compiling?

Thanks.

7 Replies

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Sachin Singh4y ago
Accepted answer
For .Net Framework, You are absolutely correct.
There is no difference.

Also (FYI), instead of publishing a desktop app, we usually create a setup file, so that the end-users can install it easily.
Ranganath Prasad4y ago
Here's my 2 cents to this question.

Build : Compile my code
Run : Compile my code and then execute the generated files
Publish : Compile my code and then generate all the files that are needed to host this application

And your point is totally understandable - Why to do a publish when the build output (for example, a console .exe) can be run without any problem? And you know what, i have seen few teams doing this in the past. Move the build output (.exe) to a server and run it.

However, things got interesting with the release of .Net Core. Now you can,
Select the OS you are targeting - Windows, Linux, ..
Select the deployment mode ( framework dependendant / Self-Contained ). With Self-Contained deployment mode your publish output not only contains your project binaries, but also .net binaries which are needed to run a .net application in any machine.
And with recent .net core versions, you have the option to package the publish output into a single file and even have an option of Ready to Run ( generate native code / AOT compiling )
These above options are availble when you PUBLISH the app.
Valerie Meunier4y ago
Thanks
Rijwan Ansari4y ago
Build compiles the source code into a (hopefully) runnable application. Publish takes the results of the build, along with any needed third-party libraries and puts it somewhere for other people to run it. It may also make some changes to make the app runnable in the destination, depending on the framework and type of app (e.g. a console app may just copy files, while a web app may set up the configs based on the destination).
Your confusion may come from the fact that Publish will also build the application if it thinks it needs to (e.g. if there are source code changes).
Rajanikant Hawaldar4y ago
in simple terms, exe file just launches application/software, publish is nothing but creating msi file with setting configurations like product key/code, license key, description of software, registration form, etc you will see all these information while installing your application/software.

1.An EXE is an executable file while an MSI is an installation package.
2.MSI is exclusive to installers while EXE is not.
3.An MSI provides a standard GUI while an EXE provides GUI flexibility.
4.An MSI can do installation on demand while an EXE can’t.
Valerie Meunier4y ago
Thanks for replying, but my question was not: how to publish (i know it's via menu Build / Publish etc ...) but why, because i note that there is already a .exe in directory bin\debug of the project.
(by the way, i have other windows than yours when i do Build / Publish. Is that because you use another version of Visual Studio ?(i use VS 2019, not Blend)).
Thanks.
Jignesh Kumar4y ago
Step To Follow :
Clicke on your project
clcik on publish
click on Folder option
Click on next button
Give your disired path to publish
click on Finish
Then go to that path your all files will be there in published path.