Automatic Compilation with Resource modification

I am using Visual Studio 2008. Is it possible to perform automatic build of a solution whereby you are able to change the resource file/other files for the project to take the values into?

For example, expiry date. Each time I need a new expiry date, I will have to open up the solution, open the relevant source file, modify the expiry date, rebuild.

I wou开发者_JAVA技巧ld like to know if its possible to cut short all those steps and basically, just change the date and build without having to open the project at all.

Thanks!

---

You can run the build from the commandline without starting Visual Studio.
This together with a build script is the normal way to do time/dated builds

Examples:

devenv  /clean release /project ProjectName SolutionName.sln     
devenv  /build release /project ProjectName SolutionName.sln

changes to a .rc file weren't always picked up by a /build in VS2005/8 so it's safer to do a clean build.

Then I have a python script that updates a version.h file containing

#define VERSION_MAJOR 1
#define VERSION_MINOR 12
#define VERSION_BUILD 368
#define VERSION_DATE "2010:06:19"

This is then included in a application.rc2 file. Sorry can't remember the reason for the convoluted string macro steps. I found it somehwere on the net years ago, there might be easier ways now - but this has worked from VC++6 to VS2010!

    #include "version.h"

    #define _STR(x) #x
    #define STR(x) _STR(x)

    #define VERSION_STRING STR(VERSION_MAJOR) "." STR(VERSION_MINOR) ".0." STR(VERSION_BUILD) 

    VS_VERSION_INFO VERSIONINFO
     FILEVERSION VERSION_MAJOR,VERSION_MINOR,0,VERSION_BUILD
     PRODUCTVERSION VERSION_MAJOR,VERSION_MINOR,0,VERSION_BUILD
     FILEFLAGSMASK 0x17L
    #ifdef _DEBUG
     FILEFLAGS 0x1L
    #else
     FILEFLAGS 0x0L
    #endif
     FILEOS 0x4L
     FILETYPE 0x1L
     FILESUBTYPE 0x0L
    BEGIN
        BLOCK "StringFileInfo"
        BEGIN
            BLOCK "080904b0"
            BEGIN
                VALUE "FileDescription", "XXX Application"
                VALUE "FileVersion", VERSION_STRING "\0"
                VALUE "InternalName", "XXX"
                VALUE "LegalCopyright", "Copyright (C) 2010"
                VALUE "LegalTrademarks", "XXX"
                VALUE "ProductName", "XXX Application"
                VALUE "ProductVersion", VERSION_STRING "\0"
            END
        END
        BLOCK "VarFileInfo"
        BEGIN
            VALUE "Translation", 0x809, 1200
        END
    END

Which is finally included in the application.rc

#include "res\application.rc2"  // non-Microsoft Visual C++ edited resources

All this proved necessary because Visual Studio would overwrite external changes to the .rc file when it was opened in the dialog editor - don't know if this has been fixed in newer versions, and it's onyl a problem for MFC.