Re-host MDP pipeline as single GenerateNanoPeFile target

[josesimoes]

Description

• Collapse 3 MetaDataProcessorTask calls into one GenerateNanoPeFile target (AfterTargets=CoreCompile); regular/core split in properties.
• Replace *DependsOn chain redefinitions with appends; drop _NanoCopyAssemblyToOutDir; rewire output/copy targets via AfterTargets.
• Add Inputs/Outputs for incrementality; surface NativeChecksum as $(NanoNativeMethodsChecksum) via dedicated NanoReportChecksum target.
• Gate NanoGenerateBinaryOutput on NanoIsCoreLibrary != True (match legacy).
• Fix dead core "no-stubs" branch; dump-exports, dependency-map and strings now actually emitted for core builds.
• Drop undefined _NanoMdpStub* params and empty Dat/DependencyMap placeholder targets.
• SmokeTest: add NativeLibrary.cs with native implementation trhough InternalCall fixture.

Motivation and Context

• Following SDK plan doc 04 §4.1–4.4: re-host the MDP stage with proper incrementality, ordering and surfaced outputs.
• AfterTargets ordering makes the SDK robust to future Microsoft.NET.Sdk chain changes vs. the legacy wholesale redefinition approach.
• Three task calls collapsed to one; NativeChecksum is groundwork for the optional §4.5 ABI gate.
• Latent bugs from the NFProjectSystem legacy (undefined params, dead branch, empty placeholder targets) fixed in the same pass.
• Testing stubs generation from SDK.
• Related with SDK-style MSBuild project system for .NET nanoFramework Home#1784

How Has This Been Tested?

• Local build of SDK and smoke test project.

Screenshots

Types of changes

• Improvement (non-breaking change that improves a feature, code or algorithm)
• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue with code or algorithm)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality to code)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to change)
• Config and build (change in the configuration and build system, has no impact on code or features)
• Dependencies (update dependencies and changes associated, has no impact on code or features)
• Unit Tests (add new Unit Test(s) or improved existing one(s), has no impact on code or features)
• Documentation (changes or updates in the documentation, has no impact on code or features)

Checklist:

• My code follows the code style of this project (only if there are changes in source code).
• My changes require an update to the documentation (there are changes that require the docs website to be updated).
• I have updated the documentation accordingly (the changes require an update on the docs in this repo).
• I have read the CONTRIBUTING document.
• I have tested everything locally and all new and existing tests passed (only if there are changes in source code).
• I have added new tests to cover my changes.

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ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository: nanoframework/coderabbit/.coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: ASSERTIVE

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 7048a0b5-eb66-49db-ac49-449fb97d86e5

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 35c5370 and f41f128.

📒 Files selected for processing (7)

• .gitignore
• src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Mdp.targets
• src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Output.targets
• test/SmokeTest/AssemblyInfo.cs
• test/SmokeTest/HelloNano.cs
• test/SmokeTest/NativeLibrary.cs
• test/SmokeTest/SmokeTest.csproj

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The PR replaces the two-target MDP build pipeline (NanoMetadataProcessor + NanoMetadataProcessorCompile) with a single GenerateNanoPeFile target that invokes MetaDataProcessorTask once after CoreCompile. Output, copy, and checksum targets are rewired accordingly. The SmokeTest project gains native interop fixtures, unsafe block support, and stub-generation configuration to exercise the new pipeline.

Changes

MDP Pipeline Unification and Output Rewire

Layer / File(s)	Summary
GenerateNanoPeFile: property defaults and unified MDP invocation src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Mdp.targets	Core-library property-group defaults reorganized; new _NanoMdpParseInput/_NanoMdpCompileOutput*/stub properties introduced; single GenerateNanoPeFile target replaces NanoMetadataProcessor and NanoMetadataProcessorCompile, running MetaDataProcessorTask once after CoreCompile with mode-controlled stub/dump/dat/xml outputs, artifact registration, and dependency-chain updates (ResolveRuntimeDependencies, NanoGenerateResources); legacy placeholder .dat/.xml target removed.
Output, copy, checksum, and clean target rewiring src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Output.targets	NanoGenerateBinaryOutput wired after GenerateNanoPeFile; new NanoReportChecksum target publishes NF_NATIVE_ASSEMBLY_CHECKSUM to GITHUB_ENV/TF_BUILD; NanoCopyOutputFiles and _NanoCopyReferencesToIntermediate updated to run after CopyFilesToOutputDirectory with DisableNanoMdp guards; _NanoCleanExtraFiles extended to delete $(_NanoMdpSaveStringsFile).
SmokeTest native interop fixtures and project configuration test/SmokeTest/SmokeTest.csproj, test/SmokeTest/NativeLibrary.cs, test/SmokeTest/AssemblyInfo.cs, test/SmokeTest/HelloNano.cs, .gitignore	Project enables unsafe blocks and _NanoMdpGenerateStubs; new NativeLibrary class adds managed driver and [MethodImpl(InternalCall)] extern declarations covering ref, pointer, and static signatures; AssemblyNativeVersion attribute added; HelloNano.cs uses block-scoped namespace; generated Stubs directory added to .gitignore.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 4 (Complex) | ⏱️ ~45 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• nanoframework/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk#3: Makes earlier code-level changes to nanoFramework.Mdp.targets and nanoFramework.Output.targets covering MDP/output modularization and target restructuring that this PR directly extends and replaces.

Suggested labels

Type: Unit Tests, Area: Config-and-Build

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the main change and has no issue references or trailing period.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description is directly related to the pipeline rework and smoke test additions in the changeset.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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[josesimoes]

Pipeline failing as expected with missing files to build the tasks.

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 4

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
In `@src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Mdp.targets`:
- Around line 238-239: The checksum export in the NanoReportChecksum flow is
tied too closely to GenerateNanoPeFile, so it is skipped whenever the PE step is
up-to-date. Update the NanoReportChecksum/GenerateNanoPeFile targets in
nanoFramework.Mdp.targets so the checksum is persisted independently, either by
writing NanoNativeMethodsChecksum to an intermediate file or by making the
reporting target always run; use the existing GenerateNanoPeFile and
NanoReportChecksum symbols to keep the fix localized.
- Around line 217-218: The GenerateNanoPeFile incremental tracking only includes
the main .pe and .pdbx outputs, so side artifacts from the same generation can
be missed and the target may be incorrectly skipped. Update the
GenerateNanoPeFile Outputs in nanoFramework.Mdp.targets to also include the
generated DumpExports, GenerateDependency, SaveStrings, and stub skeleton files,
using the existing core/stub generation symbols and conditions where appropriate
so all emitted artifacts are tracked.

In `@src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Output.targets`:
- Line 53: The PE output path in the nanoFramework output targets is still
hardcoded through _NanoIntermediateAssembly, which can drift from the shared
compile output path. Update the AssemblyPE assignment in the relevant target to
reuse the existing _NanoMdpCompileOutput symbol defined by GenerateNanoPeFile so
both places stay aligned if intermediate assembly handling changes.
- Around line 69-70: The Azure Pipelines logging command in the Message task is
using default verbosity, so it may be suppressed before the variable is set.
Update the Message element that emits the `##vso[task.setvariable ...]` command
in nanoFramework.Output.targets to use high importance, keeping the existing
condition and checksum expression intact.

🪄 Autofix (Beta)

Fix all unresolved CodeRabbit comments on this PR:

• Push a commit to this branch (recommended)
• Create a new PR with the fixes

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Repository: nanoframework/coderabbit/.coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: ASSERTIVE

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 5ad77732-0d01-434f-b35e-dd0f8f512d80

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 1f7ba54 and 35c5370.

📒 Files selected for processing (7)

• .gitignore
• src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Mdp.targets
• src/nanoFramework.NET.Sdk/Sdk/nanoFramework.Output.targets
• test/SmokeTest/AssemblyInfo.cs
• test/SmokeTest/HelloNano.cs
• test/SmokeTest/NativeLibrary.cs
• test/SmokeTest/SmokeTest.csproj