There is actually a (subtle) difference between the two. Imagine you have the following code in File1.cs:
// File1.cs
using System;
namespace Outer.Inner
{
class Foo
{
static void Bar()
{
double d = Math.PI;
}
}
}
Now imagine that someone adds another file (File2.cs) to the project that looks like this:
// File2.cs
namespace Outer
{
class Math
{
}
}
The compiler searches Outer
before looking at those using
directives outside the namespace, so it finds Outer.Math
instead of System.Math
. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), Outer.Math
has no PI
member, so File1 is now broken.
This changes if you put the using
inside your namespace declaration, as follows:
// File1b.cs
namespace Outer.Inner
{
using System;
class Foo
{
static void Bar()
{
double d = Math.PI;
}
}
}
Now the compiler searches System
before searching Outer
, finds System.Math
, and all is well.
Some would argue that Math
might be a bad name for a user-defined class, since there's already one in System
; the point here is just that there is a difference, and it affects the maintainability of your code.
It's also interesting to note what happens if Foo
is in namespace Outer
, rather than Outer.Inner
. In that case, adding Outer.Math
in File2 breaks File1 regardless of where the using
goes. This implies that the compiler searches the innermost enclosing namespace before it looks at any using
directive.
float
and double
are floating binary point types. In other words, they represent a number like this:
10001.10010110011
The binary number and the location of the binary point are both encoded within the value.
decimal
is a floating decimal point type. In other words, they represent a number like this:
12345.65789
Again, the number and the location of the decimal point are both encoded within the value – that's what makes decimal
still a floating point type instead of a fixed point type.
The important thing to note is that humans are used to representing non-integers in a decimal form, and expect exact results in decimal representations; not all decimal numbers are exactly representable in binary floating point – 0.1, for example – so if you use a binary floating point value you'll actually get an approximation to 0.1. You'll still get approximations when using a floating decimal point as well – the result of dividing 1 by 3 can't be exactly represented, for example.
As for what to use when:
For values which are "naturally exact decimals" it's good to use decimal
. This is usually suitable for any concepts invented by humans: financial values are the most obvious example, but there are others too. Consider the score given to divers or ice skaters, for example.
For values which are more artefacts of nature which can't really be measured exactly anyway, float
/double
are more appropriate. For example, scientific data would usually be represented in this form. Here, the original values won't be "decimally accurate" to start with, so it's not important for the expected results to maintain the "decimal accuracy". Floating binary point types are much faster to work with than decimals.
Best Answer
To make the MSBuild plugin work, you need to configure the plugin in the Jenkins management screen.
NOTE: in the newer Jenkins versions you find the MSBuild configuration in the Global Tool Configuration:
Note the "Name" field, where I've called this particular configuration v4.0.30319. You could call it anything you like, but ideally the name will somehow refer to the version.
You'll need to refer to this name later in the Jenkins PROJECT that's failing.
Note: The yellow warning implies that the Path to MSBuild field should be populated with a directory name rather than a file name. In practice you do need to enter the filename here too (ie. msbuild.exe) or the build step will fail.
In the Jenkins project that's failing, go to the MSBuild build step.
The first field in the build step is "MSBuild Version". If you created the build step before configuring any MSBuild versions, the value here will be (default).
After configuring one or more MSBuild versions, the drop down will be populated with the available configurations. Select the one you require.
You can see here that I've now selected the named configuration that matches the installation above.