This document gives a basic overview of using the C# target for ANTLR 4 with C# projects in Visual Studio.

This target provides several C# targets, numbered according to the target framework version. When the grammars are generated by Antlr4.targets as part of the build, the code generation target will be automatically selected to match the TargetFrameworkVersion property in the project file.

Currently there is no Visual Studio extension specifically designed for editing ANTLR 4 grammars. However, now that a C# target for ANTLR 4 is available an editor should be available in the "reasonably near" future. If this feature is particularly important to your team, Tunnel Vision Labs' Sponsored Development Program may be a cost effective option for reducing the release timeframe.

C:\dev\CoolTool\
  CoolProject\
    CoolProject.csproj
  CoolTool.sln

1. Download the current C# release from the following location: TODO
2. Extract the files to C:\dev\CoolTool\Reference\Antlr4

After these steps, your folder should resemble the following.

C:\dev\CoolTool\
  CoolProject\...
  Reference\
    Antlr4\
      Antlr4.targets
      Antlr4BuildTasks.dll
      antlr4-csharp-[version]-complete.jar
  CoolTool.sln

Since the steps include manual modification of the Visual Studio project files, I very strongly recommend you back up your project (or commit it to source control) before attempting these steps.

1. Open the CoolTool.sln solution in Visual Studio

2. Unload the CoolProject project by right-clicking the project in Solution Explorer and selecting Unload Project

3. Open CoolProject.csproj for editing by right-clicking the unloaded project in Solution Explorer and selecting Edit CoolProject.csproj

4. For reference, locate the following line

    <Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/>
   

   Note: the line appears as follows in some projects

    <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/>
   

5. After the line in step 4, add the following code

    <PropertyGroup>
      <!-- Folder containing Antlr4BuildTasks.dll -->
      <Antlr4BuildTaskPath>$(ProjectDir)..\Reference\Antlr4</Antlr4BuildTaskPath>
      <!-- Path to the ANTLR Tool itself. -->
      <Antlr4ToolPath>$(ProjectDir)..\Reference\Antlr4\antlr4-csharp-4.0.1-SNAPSHOT-complete.jar</Antlr4ToolPath>
    </PropertyGroup>
    <Import Project="$(ProjectDir)..\Reference\Antlr4\Antlr4.targets" /> 
   

6. Save and close CoolProject.csproj

7. Reload the CoolProject project by right-clicking the project in Solution Explorer and selecting Reload Project

In the CoolProject project, add a reference to Antlr4.Runtime.dll, which is located at C:\dev\CoolTool\Reference\Antlr4\Antlr4.Runtime.dll.

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