[Mvvm] Mark attributes as conditional

[tranb3r]

This is an optimization, and it may be premature. I'll let you decide if/when it's relevant to implement it.

I think the BindableProperty attribute (and probably all the attributes here) could be marked as Conditional.
Indeed, once the source generators have generated the code, there is no reason to keep the attribute in the published app.
This would allow the linker to get rid of the Squan.Helpers.Maui assembly in the final package, if it's not required anymore.

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property, Inherited = false, AllowMultiple = false)]
[System.Diagnostics.Conditional(""BindablePropertyGenerator_DEBUG"")]
public class BindablePropertyAttribute : Attribute

[stephenquan]

@tranb3r perhaps you can try limitting the assets bundled in your package by setting IncludeAssets to a restricted set, e.g.

<PackageReference Include="SQuan.Helpers.Maui.Mvvm" Version="1.0.12" PrivateAssets="all" IncludeAssets="compile; build" />

See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/consume-packages/package-references-in-project-files#controlling-dependency-assets

[tranb3r]

PrivateAssets="all" IncludeAssets="compile; build"

It doesn't work, it fails to load the assembly.
Probably because of the BindablePropertyAttribute is not removed from the code.

[stephenquan]

Copilot analysis:

The issue proposes marking certain attributes as conditional to optimize app size by allowing unused assemblies to be removed during linking.

This GitHub issue, opened by user @tranb3r, suggests an optimization for the SQuan.Helpers library. The idea is to mark attributes like BindablePropertyAttribute with the [Conditional] attribute from System.Diagnostics. This would mean:

• Attributes are only included during compilation if a specific conditional compilation symbol is defined (e.g., BindablePropertyGenerator_DEBUG).
• Once source generators have done their job, these attributes are no longer needed in the final published app, so they can be excluded.
• This could allow the linker to remove the SQuan.Helpers.Maui assembly from the final package if it's not used elsewhere, reducing app size.

Why this matters
In .NET MAUI or similar environments, minimizing the final app footprint is important, especially for mobile apps. Attributes used only during source generation or design-time tooling don't need to persist in runtime binaries.

This issue is a thoughtful suggestion for improving build-time and runtime efficiency, though it may require deeper changes to how attributes are defined and used in the library.