[BuildCheck Suggestion]: Detect use of Exec task to run "dotnet build" or similar commands

[dsplaisted]

Summary

We should warn when an Exec task is used to spawn a new build via dotnet build, dotnet publish, etc.

Background and Motivation

It's usually a bad pattern to run dotnet build, dotnet publish, etc from an Exec task, since this spawns an entirely separate build that the MSBuild engine doesn't have visibility over. We should recommend using an MSBuild task instead.

Sample issue or antipattern that the check should be flagging

  <Target Name="BuildVer2022">
    <Exec Command="dotnet build -p:C3DVersion=Ver2022 -c $(Configuration)"/>
  </Target>

Source: dotnet/sdk#45034 (comment)

Sample output

No response

[IliaShuliatikov]

Hi @dsplaisted, @surayya-MS, I am interested in working on this issue. Considering it has been open for some time now and has both help wanted and internal-team-onboarding labels, could you please let me know if it is available for contribution? If yes, could you please assign it to me? Thank you

[dsplaisted]

@baronfel @rainersigwald Do we have guidance for folks that want to contribute build checks? Ilya would like to help out with this one.

[IliaShuliatikov]

@dsplaisted, thanks. Considering that BuildCheck is a relatively new feature, this seems pretty straightforward to me, so while any guidance would be appreciated, it's not necessary. I can start right away, just wanted to confirm that it's available for external contribution, given that it has an "internal" label.

[baronfel]

I think the main things that will be interesting are:

• where the checks should live in this repo, how they get distributed in the overall SDK layout
• where in the SDK layout we should insert the calls to the RegisterBuildCheck intrinsic function to load the check(s) in the specified assembly.

After that, it should just be a matter of trial-and-error to get the semantics we want on the check itself!

[IliaShuliatikov]

@baronfel, not sure if I got this right, but do you mean that this check should not be one of the built-in build checks which are being registered by default in the RegisterBuiltInChecks internal method?

[baronfel]

Oh I'm sorry - I thought I was in the SDK repo. You're exactly right - there are no barriers at all to creating a built-in buildcheck. Carry on!

[IliaShuliatikov]

@dsplaisted, @baronfel, I prepared PR #11523 implementing the new build check, could you please take a look?