vs2003: build issue with very large solution

Question

My VS2003 , C#, solution has close to 230 projects. Building this sln takes a long time. What would you recommend that I do to build it more efficiently. What are the best practices to effectively isolate issues as I encounter while building.

Plus, I just work here and can not simply upgrade to VS2010.

Answer 1

Do you really have to have 230 projects all in the same solution? Options I'd consider:

• Merge some projects. If you've got lots of projects with just a few classes, consider combining them.
• Separate the projects into different solutions. This will mean changing the way your dependencies work (from project-based to location-based) but means each solution should build reasonably quickly.

Of course, if you could look at your build log and work out where the time is going, that would help too.