MSTest.Sdk 3.7.0 issues when targeting .NET Framework 4.8

[avivanoff]

When using MSTest.Sdk 3.7.0 in the test project targeting .NET Framework 4.8 I found the following issues:

• No DLL is produced, only EXE.
• Executing tests from Visual Studio fails with:
  An exception occurred while test discoverer 'MSTestDiscoverer' was loading tests. Exception: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Testing.Platform, Version=1.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

When projects target .NET 8 the aforementioned issues are not present. See the sample project.

[Youssef1313]

I'm unable to reproduce

[Youssef1313]

I can only reproduce this when the server mode option in Visual Studio is not enabled.

Can you please make sure the option is enabled?

[avivanoff]

@Youssef1313, what about DLL? Why is it not being built? And why do .NET 8 and .NET 4.8 behaviors are different?

[Evangelink]

@avivanoff this is the normal behavior of runtime when building an exe for net framework VS netcore/net.

[BoBoBaSs84]

I can confirm this, but with 4.62 & 4.72 ..

The build does not show any issues.

Running the tests via test explorer shows only not run.

The test output exposes some issues.

The pipeline on the other hand does not show any issues. (ubuntu-latest)

Edit says:

Edit says again:

Turning server mode to on and restarting VS did not resolve the problem.

[factorysoft-01]

Using project file like <Project Sdk="MSTest.Sdk/3.7.0"> and <TargetFramework>net48</TargetFramework> fix the problem.

Using project file like <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk"> and <TargetFramework>net48</TargetFramework> and <PackageReference Include="MSTest" Version="3.7.0" /> VS Test Explorer will not run tests.

Using project file like <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk"> and <TargetFramework>net48</TargetFramework> and <PackageReference Include="MSTest" Version="3.7.0" /> tests always run on build server with build tools 2022.

[BoBoBaSs84]

@factorysoft-01 Nope, that does not work either.

I changed the project file:

I then ran the tests in the test explorer, with the same result:

The test output gave me the same errors as before:

No test is available in D:\Source\BB84.Extensions\src\BB84.Extensions\bin\Debug\net462\BB84.Extensions.dll. Make sure that test discoverer & executors are registered and platform & framework version settings are appropriate and try again. An exception occurred while test discoverer 'MSTestDiscoverer' was loading tests. Exception: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Testing.Platform, Version=1.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. No test is available in D:\Source\BB84.Extensions\tests\BB84.ExtensionsTests\bin\Debug\net462\BB84.ExtensionsTests.exe. Make sure that test discoverer & executors are registered and platform & framework version settings are appropriate and try again.

If I run the tests via the cli, the error does not occur:

Edit says:

When running along with <Project Sdk="MSTest.Sdk/3.6.4"> it works like a charm:

[factorysoft-01]

MSNetSdk.zip

I change the sample from @avivanoff to MSNetSDK and Package Reference v3.7.0. The test never run with VS Explorer 2022 v17.12.3.

The original sample work for me.

Hope this helps.

[avivanoff]

I can only reproduce this when the server mode option in Visual Studio is not enabled.

Can you please make sure the option is enabled?

@Youssef1313, selecting this mode does seem to fix the problem. But it looks like this feature being in preview still has ways to go - test discovery does not always work; the test project executable is being kept loaded which prevents builds from succeeding - just to name a few.