All 15 .NET CLI, SDK & Project Structure (csproj) questions
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What is the dotnet CLI, and what are some of its most commonly used commands? What does `dotnet new` do, and how do you list available project templates? What does the `dotnet watch` command do, and how does it speed up local development? What is the structure and purpose of a .csproj file in a modern SDK-style .NET project? How does target framework moniker (TFM) selection, like net8.0 or net8.0-windows, affect what a project can do? How do global.json files pin a specific .NET SDK version for a project or repository? What is the difference between framework-dependent deployment (FDD) and self-contained deployment (SCD)? How do you add, remove, and list NuGet package references using the dotnet CLI? What is the difference between dotnet build, dotnet publish, and dotnet run? What are MSBuild properties and items, and how do they control the build process?
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What is a .sln (solution) file, and how does it relate to .csproj project files?

Intermediate

Answer

A .sln file is a text-based manifest listing one or more related projects (each with its own .csproj) that are built and managed together, along with build configurations (Debug/Release) and project dependencies. It's primarily consumed by IDEs like Visual Studio and by `dotnet build`/`dotnet sln` commands to operate on multiple projects as a unit.
dotnet new sln -n MySolution
dotnet sln add src/MyApi/MyApi.csproj
dotnet sln add tests/MyApi.Tests/MyApi.Tests.csproj
dotnet build MySolution.sln
Real-world example A microservices repository organizes each service as a separate project within one solution file, letting developers open the whole system in one IDE window while building and testing services independently.

Common follow-ups: Can you build a project without a .sln file?;How does dotnet sln differ from manually editing the file?

Assemblies & NuGet;CI/CD Publishing & Deployment
All 15 .NET CLI, SDK & Project Structure (csproj) questions