Start with the result

The easiest way to build a CodeSmith Generator template is to start with an example of the code you want to generate: in this case, a finished AssemblyInfo.cs file. You use this one throughout the tutorial:

using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
//
// Created: 1/1/1973
// Author: Blake Niemyjski
//
[assembly: AssemblyTitle("User storage utility")]
[assembly: AssemblyDescription("Helps manage data in Isolated Storage files.")]
[assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("Retail")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("MegaUtilities, Inc.")]
[assembly: AssemblyProduct("StorageScan")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("Copyright (c) MegaUtilities, Inc.")]
[assembly: AssemblyCulture("")]
[assembly: AssemblyVersion("1.0.*")]
[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("1.0")]
[assembly: AssemblyDelaySign(true)]

Sort the content of the file into three kinds:

Kind of content	In this example
Content that never changes	Everything else, treated as static text.
Content Generator can calculate	The creation date on the // Created: line.
Content you prompt the user for	The author, title, description, configuration, company, product, version and file version.

Make these decisions based on how you'll use the template. For example, this template always sets the AssemblyDelaySign attribute to true. If that value varied from project to project, you would make it a dynamic part of the template and prompt the user for it.

Now that you know what you want to build, it's time to put the content into the template.

Next: Add static content