<call> Task

<call>

Calls a NAnt target in the current project.

When the <call> task is used to execute a target, both that target and all its dependent targets will be re-executed.

To avoid dependent targets from being executed more than once, two options are available:

Add an "unless" attribute with value "${target::has-executed('<target name>')}" to the dependent targets.

Set the cascade attribute on the <call> task to false (recommended).

Parameters

Attribute	Type	Description	Required
target	string	NAnt target to call.	True
cascade	bool	Execute the specified targets dependencies -- even if they have been previously executed. The default is true.	False
force	bool	Deprecated. Force an execute even if the target has already been executed. The default is false.	False
failonerror	bool	Determines if task failure stops the build, or is just reported. The default is true.	False
if	bool	If true then the task will be executed; otherwise, skipped. The default is true.	False
unless	bool	Opposite of `if`. If false then the task will be executed; otherwise, skipped. The default is false.	False
verbose	bool	Determines whether the task should report detailed build log messages. The default is false.	False

Examples

Call the target "build".

<call target="build" />

This shows how a project could 'compile' a debug and release build using a common compile target.

<project default="build">
    <property name="debug" value="false" />
    <target name="init">
        <echo message="initializing" />
    </target>
    <target name="compile" depends="init">
        <echo message="compiling with debug = ${debug}" />
    </target>
    <target name="build">
        <property name="debug" value="false" />
        <call target="compile" />
        <property name="debug" value="true" />
        <call target="compile" />
    </target>
</project>

The cascade parameter of the <call> task defaults to true, causing the "init" target to be executed for both the "debug" and "release" build.

This results in the following build log:

build:
  
init:
                [echo] initializing
    
compile:

    [echo] compiling with debug = false
    
init:

    [echo] initializing
    
compile:

    [echo] compiling with debug = true
    
BUILD SUCCEEDED

If the "init" should only be executed once, set the cascade attribute of the <call> task to false.

The build log would then look like this:

build:
  
init:
                [echo] initializing
    
compile:

    [echo] compiling with debug = false
    
compile:

    [echo] compiling with debug = true
    
BUILD SUCCEEDED

Requirements

Assembly: NAnt.Core (0.90.3780.0)