#2782

Getting F# Running on a Continuous Integration Server

Getting the NBody.NET project migrated to Visual Studio 2010 has been a somewhat drawn out process as I’ve hit a few snags along the way. I don’t install VS 2010 on my CI server so this means installing sufficient prerequisites to build the project. Essentially the .NET 4 Framework and Windows SDK 7.1.

In order to get F# working I had to do some “unnatural” things, like…

1. Install the F# April 2010 CTP on the CI server.
2. Copy some additional files onto the server (from a machine with VS 2010)
3. For better performance you could also GAC FSharp.Compiler.dll

But not any more…

“The F# team are very pleased to announce the update of August 2010 release of the F# 2.0 free download MSI and ZIP. This release enables .NET 4.0 development with the MSI and ZIP releases of F# 2.0. This is an important release for the F# community, as it extends the existing availability of free-for-use F# programming tools to .NET 4.0. “

Announcing the F# 2.0 Standalone Tools Update (for .NET 2.0, 4.0 and other CLI Implementations)

Simply install the standalone MSI and you’re good to go! I upgraded my CI server today with no issues. Uninstall the old MSI, delete the copied files and install the new standalone MSI. Done!

I’m really pleased about this as I and several other people at Microsoft asked the F# team do fix this after Visual Studio 2010 shipped and here it is!