Building on Build (not that Build) MSBuild and C#/VB compilers, are now part of Visual Studio (and it's release cycle)

The Visual Studio Blog - MSBuild is now part of Visual Studio!

We made a number of exciting changes to MSBuild for Visual Studio 2013, including rethinking the fundamental relationship between MSBuild, Visual Studio, and the .NET Framework. MSBuild has shipped as a component of the .NET framework since it was first introduced in 2005 with .NET 2.0, despite the fact that it is, first and foremost, a development tool leveraged primarily by Visual Studio developers. Starting with Visual Studio 2013, the 2013 version of MSBuild will ship as a part of Visual Studio instead of the .NET Framework. This transition allows us to more rapidly evolve MSBuild.

Most of the important changes this release stem from MSBuild’s transition into Visual Studio:

• MSBuild and the VB/C# compilers are now available as a standalone package, Microsoft® Build Tools. This package is installed with Visual Studio 2013.
• We are simplifying MSBuild’s versioning story. Each version of Visual Studio will have a corresponding version of the Microsoft® Build Tools including MSBuild, the VB/C# compilers, and common tasks and targets that make up the 2013 Toolset. There will no longer be any sub Toolset versions. Visual Studio 2013 will exclusively use 2013 MSBuild and VB/C# compilers (assembly version 12.0) and the 2013 Toolset (ToolsVersion 12.0).
• The way MSBuild selects Toolset versions for command line builds is now identical to the way Visual Studio builds projects. If your projects build in VS, they will build from the command line. No more manually overriding Toolset versions and hunting down missing dependencies.
• MSBuild has a dependency on the latest Framework, .NET 4.5.1.

This change does not mean that we are removing previously shipped versions of MSBuild from the .NET Framework. MSBuild 4.5 is still part of the .NET 4.5.1 Framework. The Framework’s MSBuild will still be used by Visual Studio 2012, and is able to build any projects that round trip from Visual Studio 2013 to Visual Studio 2012. However, future innovation, new features, and support for new project types will not be ported to the Framework MSBuild.

The New Microsoft® Build Tools Package

MSBuild is now a component of Visual Studio and will ship with all SKUs of Visual Studio, including Team Build so if you use Visual Studio all of your build needs should be covered. ...

MSBuild and its Toolset now Version with Visual Studio

We plan to evolve our build tools with each version of Visual Studio from now on...

MSBuild’s New Binaries Location

Shipping MSBuild separately from the .NET Framework required us to relocate MSBuild and the VB/C# compilers....

Command Line Builds and Asset Compatibility in MSBuild 2013

In MSBuild 2013 we are removing a long standing discontinuity between command line builds and builds from within Visual Studio....

Referencing MSBuild 2013

Referencing the latest MSBuild is as simple as it was in .NET 4.5. Since MSBuild 2013 is not a Framework component, it now shows up in the Extensions tab for assemblies. MSBuild’s ...

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Interesting move. I wonder how it will impact us 2-4 years from now? Are we going to have Version-Hell? Not that I'm complaining about the increase in cadence nor this move, actually I applaud it. But we have to be careful what we wish for...