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The Makefile, Project and Workspace Creator.
Designed by Justin Michel (michel_j@ociweb.com) and Chad Elliott.
Implemented by Chad Elliott (elliott_c@ociweb.com).
A single tool (MPC) can be used to generate tool specific input (i.e.
Makefile, dsp, vcproj, etc). The generator takes platform and building
tool generic files (mpc files) as input which describe basic information
needed to generate a "project" file for various build tools. These tools
include Make, NMake, Visual C++ 6, Visual C++ 7, etc.
One of the many unique and useful features of the Makefile, Project and
Workspace Creator is that the project definition files can employ the idea
of inheritance. This feature allows a user to set up a basic base project
(mpb file) that can contain information that is applicable to all
sub-projects. Things such as include paths, library paths and inter-project
dependencies could be described in this base project and any project that
inherits from it would contain this information as well.
Another set of files, known as template input files (mpd files), provides
the generator with the necessary information to fill platform and build tool
specific information for dynamic and static library and binary executable
projects.
Together, the generic input files and the template input files are applied
toward a platform and build specific template (mpd file) to create the final
product (a build tool specific input file). These templates contain
"variables" that are filled in by the project creator with information
gathered through the mpc and mpd files and possibly by default values set
within the template itself.
Workspaces are defined by providing a list of mpc files in a single (mwc)
file. For each mpc file specified, the workspace creator (mwc.pl) calls
upon the project creator to generate the project. After all of the projects
are successfully generated, the tool specific workspace is generated
containing the projects and any defined inter-project dependency information
(if supported by the build tool). If no workspace files are provided to the
workspace creator, then the current directory is traversed and any mpc files
located will be part of the workspace that is generated.
Workspace Declarations
----------------------
workspace(workspace_name) {
file.mpc
directory
relative/path/to/another/mwc_file
}
Workspaces can contain individual mpc files, directories or other mwc files.
In the case of a directory, the workspace creator will traverse it and use
any mpc files that are found. If another workspace file is listed in the
workspace files, it will be aggregated into the workspace with paths relative
to the directory in which the main workspace is found. These "aggregated"
workspaces should not inherit from any other base workspace. The workspace
files should have an 'mwc' extension.
You can exclude directories from a workspace using the 'exclude' scope
operator:
workspace {
dir1
dir2
// exclude this_dir for all project types
exclude {
dir2/this_dir
}
// exclude other_dir for vc6, vc71 and vc8 types
exclude(vc6, vc71, vc8) {
dir2/other_dir
}
// exclude unix_only for every type except gnuace and make
exclude(!gnuace, !make) {
dir2/unix_only
}
dir3
}
Project Declarations
--------------------
project(project_name) : baseproject, anotherbaseproject {
exename = foo
includes += "."
libpaths = directory
Source_Files {
file1.cpp
file2.cpp
.
.
fileN.cpp
}
Header_Files {
file1.h
file2.h
.
.
fileN.h
}
}
When listing files within components (Source_Files, Header_Files, etc.), you
can use wild cards (*?[]) to include groups of files as can be done in shells.
You can exclude files by preceding the name (or wild card) with the '!', but
this sort of exclusion only pertains to files that exist in the directory at
the time of project generation. There is an additional syntax similar to
the '!' ('^') which works the same as the '!' except that after all of the
source files are added to the list (after automatic custom generated files
are added) these files are explicitly removed from the list.
The (project_name) part of the project declaration is optional. If it is
left off, the project name will default to the name of the mpc file without
the extension. Inheritance is optional.
If the project name or workspace name contains an asterisk (*) then the
default project (workspace) name will be used in its place. For example, if
the mpc file is named example.mpc and it contains the following:
project(*client) {
The project name will be example_client. If the any part of the modified
project (workspace) name contains a capital letter then each word will be
capitalized. For instance, if the above mpc file example was named
Example.mpc, then the modified project name would be Example_Client.
If the value set for exename contains an asterisk then the asterisk portion
of the name will be replaced with the current project name. The same logic
applies to sharedname and staticname.
If multiple projects are going to be contained within a single workspace
(using mwc.pl), there can be no duplication of project names. This is
disallowed due to limitations of some workspace tools.
Project Keywords
----------------
exename Specifies the name of the executable that will be created
sharedname Specifies the name of the shared library that will be created
staticname Specifies the name of the static library that will be created
dllout If defined, specifies where the dynamic libraries will be
placed. This overrides libout in the dynamic case.
libout Specifies where the dynamic and static libraries will be placed
install Specifies where executables will be installed
pch_header Specifies the precompiled header file name
pch_source Specifies the precompiled source file name
postbuild If this is defined in the project, the value will be
interpreted as commands to run after the project has been
successfully built. The <%..%> construct can be used within
this value to access template variables and functions of the
template parser. In addition, the following pseudo variables
can be used.
<%cat%> - Platform non-specific command to cat a file.
<%cp%> - Platform non-specific copy command.
<%mkdir%> - Platform non-specific mkdir command.
<%mv%> - Platform non-specific move command.
<%rm%> - Platform non-specific delete command.
<%nul%> - Platform non-specific null device.
<%gt%> - Project non-specific greater than sign.
<%lt%> - Project non-specific less than sign.
<%and%> - Project non-specific and sign.
<%or%> - Project non-specific or sign.
<%quote%> - Project non-specific double quote.
recurse If set to 1, MPC will recurse into directories listed under
component listings and add any component corresponding files
to the list. This keyword can be used as a global project
setting or a component scoped setting.
version Specifies the version number for the library or executable
macros These values will be passed as macros to the compiler.
libpaths Specifies 1 or more locations to find libraries
includes Specifies 1 or more locations to find include files
libs Specifies 1 or more libraries to link into the exe or library
lit_libs Specifies 1 or more libraries to link into the exe or library.
If libraries receive a library decorator, then these will not.
pure_libs Specifies 1 or more libraries to link into the exe or library.
If libraries receive a library decorator, then these will not.
If libraries receive a file extension, then these will not.
after Specifies that this project must be built after 1 or more
project names listed.
custom_only Create a project that contains only custom generation
targets (any file type described by a Define_Custom section).
dynamicflags Specifies preprocessor flags needed for dynamic libraries
staticflags Specifies preprocessor flags needed for static libraries
verbatim This allows arbitrary information to be place in a generated
project file. The syntax is as follows:
verbatim(<project type>, <location>) {
..
..
}
When MPC is generating a project of type <project type> and
comes upon a marker that matches the <location> name, it
will place the text found inside the construct directly into
the generated project. If you need to preserve white space,
the line or lines should be placed inside double quotes.
specific This scope allows assignments that are specific to a
particular project type. The syntax is as follows:
specific(<project type> [, <project type> ...]) {
lit_libs += c
...
}
or
specific(<project type> [, <project type> ...]) {
lit_libs += c
...
} else {
list_libs += c_other
...
}
If the else is provided, it is required to be on
the same line as the closing curly brace. You may
also negate the project type (using '!') which will cause
the specific to be evaluated for all types except the type
specified.
If a keyword is not recognized as a valid MPC keyword, it is
interpreted as a template value modifier. In this
situation, this construct has the exact same restrictions as
the -value_template command line option. See the USAGE file
for more information.
conditional This scope allows addition of source files conditionally
based on a particular project type. The syntax is as
follows:
conditional(<project type> [, <project type> ...]) {
source1.cpp
...
}
or
conditional(<project type> [, <project type> ...]) {
source1.cpp
...
} else {
source2.cpp
...
}
If the else is provided, it is required to be on
the same line as the closing curly brace. You may
also negate the project type (using '!') which will cause
the conditional to be evaluated for all types except the
type specified.
requires Specifies which features should be enabled in order to
generate the project file.
avoids Specifies which features should be disabled in order to
generate the project file.
Custom File Definitions
-----------------------
In order to support a variety of custom build rules, MPC allows you to
define your own custom file types. Below is an example of a custom
definition.
project {
Define_Custom(MOC) {
automatic = 0
command = $(QTDIR)/bin/moc
postcommand = echo <%quote%>#include <%lt%>some.h<%gt%><%quote%> <%gt%> <%temporary%> <%and%> \
<%cat%> <%output%> <%gt%><%gt%> <%temporary%> <%and%> \
<%mv%> <%temporary%> <%output%>
output_option = -o
inputext = .h
pre_extension = _moc
source_outputext = .cpp
}
MOC_Files {
QtReactor.h
}
Source_Files {
QtReactor_moc.cpp
}
}
The above example defines a custom file type "MOC" which describes basic
information about how to process the input files and what output files are
created. Once the custom file type is defined, MOC_Files can be defined in
order to specify the input files for this new file type.
Here is a list of keywords that can be used within the scope of
Define_Custom:
automatic If set to 1, then attempt to automatically determine
which files belong to the set of input files for the
custom type. If set to 0, then no files are
automatically added to the input files. If omitted,
then automatic is assumed to be 1. Custom file types
that are automatic will have the side effect of possibly
adding files to Source_Files, Inline_Files, Header_Files
Template_Files, Resource_Files and Documentation_Files
depending on which extension types the command generates.
dependent If this is given a value, then a dependency upon that
value will be given to all of the generated files.
The default for this is unset and no dependency will be
generated.
command The name of the command that should be used to process
the input files for the custom type.
commandflags Any options that should be passed to the command go here.
inputext This is a comma separated list of input file extensions
that belong to the command.
keyword This is a special assignment that takes the form of the
following:
keyword newname = existing_custom_name
This has the effect of mapping newname to be the
same as existing_custom_name. existing_custom_name,
which is optional, corresponds to one of the keywords
available within a Define_Custom scope (except for
keyword). This function puts newname into the project
level scope such that it can be used outside of the
scope of the particular custom file type being defined.
It should be noted that the mapped keywords can not be
used within the scope of a 'specific' clause. It does
not cause an error, but it has absolutely no affect.
If existing_custom_name is not supplied, then the only
way to utilize the newname value is from within the
template code. ex. <%newname%>
libpath If the command requires an additional library path, add
it here.
output_option If the command takes an option to specify only a single
file output name, then set it here. Otherwise, this
should be omitted.
pch_postrule If this is set to 1, then a rule will be added to the
custom rule that will modify the source output files to
include the precompiled header file.
postcommand Allows a user to execute arbitrary commands after
the main command is run to generate the output file.
The following pseudo variables can be accessed from
within the postcommand assignment:
<%input%> - The input file for the original command.
<%output%> - The output created by the original command.
<%input_basename%> - The basename of the input file.
<%input_noext%> - The input file with no extension.
<%output_basename%> - The basename of the output file.
<%output_noext%> - The output file with no extension.
The output file can be referenced as a generic output
file using <%output%> or can be referenced as a
component file (if it matches the particular type)
using one of the following:
<%source_file%>
<%template_file%>
<%header_file%>
<%inline_file%>
<%documentation_file%>
<%resource_file%>
The output file without an extension can be referenced
as a generic output file using <%output_noext%> or can
be referenced as a component file (if it matches the
particular type) using one of the following:
<%source_file_noext%>
<%template_file_noext%>
<%header_file_noext%>
<%inline_file_noext%>
<%documentation_file_noext%>
<%resource_file_noext%>
The following are also available for use within the
postcommand setting. They return the extension (if
there is any) of the input and output files
respectively:
<%input_ext%>
<%output_ext%>
The following pseudo template variables are valid for
use within the command, commandflags, dependent,
postcommand and output_option settings:
<%temporary%> - A temporary file name.
<%cat%> - Platform non-specific command to cat a file.
<%cp%> - Platform non-specific copy command.
<%mkdir%> - Platform non-specific mkdir command.
<%mv%> - Platform non-specific move command.
<%rm%> - Platform non-specific delete command.
<%nul%> - Platform non-specific null device.
<%gt%> - Project non-specific greater than sign.
<%lt%> - Project non-specific less than sign.
<%and%> - Project non-specific and sign.
<%or%> - Project non-specific or sign.
<%quote%> - Project non-specific double quote.
If any referenced pseudo template variable does
not contain a value, then the particular setting
(command, commandflags, dependent, postcommand or
output_option) will not be used.
pre_extension If the command produces multiple files of the same
extension, this comma separated list can be used to
specify them. For example, tao_idl creates two types of
files per extension (C.h, S.h, C.cpp, S.cpp, etc).
source_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it
only applies to source_outputext.
inline_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it
only applies to inline_outputext.
header_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it
only applies to header_outputext.
template_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it
only applies to template_outputext.
resource_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it
only applies to resource_outputext.
documentation_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it
only applies to documentation_outputext.
pre_filename This is similar to pre_extension except that the values
are prepended to the file name instead of the extension.
source_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it
only applies to source_outputext.
inline_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it
only applies to inline_outputext.
header_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it
only applies to header_outputext.
template_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it
only applies to template_outputext.
resource_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it
only applies to resource_outputext.
documentation_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it
only applies to documentation_outputext.
source_outputext This is a comma separated list of possible source file
output extensions. If the command does not produce
source files, then this can be omitted.
inline_outputext This is a comma separated list of possible inline file
output extensions. If the command does not produce
inline files, then this can be omitted.
header_outputext This is a comma separated list of possible header file
output extensions. If the command does not produce
header files, then this can be omitted.
template_outputext This is a comma separated list of possible template file
output extensions. If the command does not produce
template files, then this can be omitted.
resource_outputext This is a comma separated list of possible resource file
output extensions. If the command does not produce
resource files, then this can be omitted.
documentation_outputext This is a comma separated list of possible
documentation file output extensions. If the
command does not produce documentation files, then
this can be omitted.
generic_outputext If the command does not generate any of the other output
types listed above, then the extensions should be listed
under this.
If the custom output can not be represented with the above output extension
keywords (*_outputext) and you have knowledge of the output files a priori,
you can represent them with the '>>' construct.
Below is an example that demonstrates the use of '>>'. The command takes an
input file name of foo.prp and produces two files that have completely
unrelated filenames (i.e. foo !~ hello).
project {
Define_Custom(Quogen) {
automatic = 0
command = perl quogen.pl
commandflags = --debuglevel=1 --language=c++ \
--kernel_language=c++
inputext = .prp
keyword quogenflags = commandflags
}
Quogen_Files {
foo.prp >> hello.h hello.cpp
}
Source_Files {
hello.cpp
}
}
You can use the '<<' construct to represent dependencies for specific custom
input file. For instance, in the above example, assume that foo.prp depends
upon foo.in, we would represent this by adding << foo.in as shown below.
Quogen_Files {
foo.prp >> hello.h hello.cpp << foo.in
}
There is a construct that can be used within a Define_Custom section
called 'optional' and can be used to represent optional custom output
dependent upon particular command line parameters passed to the custom
command.
project {
Define_Custom(TEST) {
optional(keyword) {
flag_keyword(option) += value [, value]
}
}
}
In the above example, keyword can be any of the pre_extension, pre_filename
or keywords that end in _outputext. flag_keyword can be any of the custom
definition keywords, however only commandflags really make any sense.
Inside the parenthesis, the flag_keyword value is searched for the 'option'
value. If it is found, then the 'value' after the += is added to the list
specified by 'keyword'. This can also be negated by prefixing 'option' with
an exclamation point (!).
project {
Define_Custom(IDL) {
source_pre_extension = C, S
optional(source_pre_extension) {
commandflags(-GA) += A
}
}
}
In the preceding example, the source_pre_extension contains C and S. The
optional clause can be read as follows: If 'commandflags' contains -GA then
add A to source_pre_extension.
Particular output extensions are not required. However at least one output
extension type is required in order for MPC to generate a target. Within
graphical build environments, the custom input file will be listed
regardless of the presence of an extension definition. In this case, the
input file will be "excluded" from the build.
For custom file types, there are a few keywords that can be used within the
custom file type input lists: command, commandflags, dependent, gendir and
postcommand. These keywords (except for gendir) can be used to augment or
override the values of the same name defined in a Define_Custom section.
gendir can be used to specify the directory in which the generated
output will go. Below is an example:
MOC_Files {
commandflags += -nw
gendir = moc_generated
QtReactor.h
}
Source_Files {
moc_generated/QtReactor_moc.cpp
}
In the above example, the generated file (QtReactor_moc.cpp) is placed in
the moc_generated directory and the -nw option is added to commandflags.
It should be noted that if the custom file definition does not set the
output_option then you must provide the necessary options in
commandflags to ensure that the generated output goes into the directory
specified by gendir.
The following example illustrates the use of the keyword mapping capability
of the Define_Custom:
project {
Define_Custom(CIDL) {
automatic = 0;
command = $(CIAO_ROOT)/bin/cidlc
commandflags = -I$(TAO_ROOT)/tao -I$(TAO_ROOT)/orbsvcs/orbsvcs --
inputext = .cidl
source_outputext = _svnt.cpp
generic_outputext = E.idl
// Allow cidlflags to be used outside the scope of CIDL_Files
keyword cidlflags = commandflags
}
// This will get added to all commandflags for CIDL_Files
cidlflags += --some_option
CIDL_Files {
// This will have a combination of the original commandflags plus
// the value added to cidlflags above.
file.cidl
}
CIDL_Files {
// This will have a combination of the original commandflags plus
// the value added to cidlflags above plus the value added to
// cidlflags here.
cidlflags += --another_option
another_file.cidl
}
}
Special type of feature project
-------------------------------
A feature project contains information as a project would, but can only
be a base project and will only be added to a sub project if the features
that it requires (or avoids) are present.
A feature definition requires at least one feature name. A name by itself
specifies that the feature is required. A '!' in front of the feature name
indicates that the feature must be disabled. There may be more than one
feature listed between the parenthesis and they must be comma separated.
The following feature definition requires that the qt feature be enabled.
feature(qt) {
Define_Custom(MOC) {
automatic = 0
command = $(QTDIR)/bin/moc
output_option = -o
inputext = .h
pre_extension = _moc
source_outputext = .cpp
}
MOC_Files {
QtSpecific.h
}
Source_Files {
QtSpecific_moc.cpp
}
}
Assuming that the above feature definition is stored in a file named
qt_specific.mpb, an mpc project could inherit from it and would only receive
the feature definition if the qt feature was enabled.
project: qt_specific {
...
}
Feature Files
-------------
Features are enabled and disable within feature files or through the use of
the -features option (see USAGE for more details). The first feature file
read is always global.features found in the config directory. The second
feature file read is the project type name with .features appended
(ex. vc71.features, make.features, etc.) which must be located in the same
directory as the global.features file. Lastly, the file specified by the
-feature_file option is read if this option is used.
Each successive feature file has precedence over the previous. That is,
if a feature has already been set previously it is overridden. The
-features option has precedence over feature files.
Special Keywords Available to Templates
---------------------------------------
project_name This contains the name of the project.
project_file This contains the name of the output file.
guid This is used by the VC7 project and workspace creator.
configurations When used within a foreach context, this info (each
configuration) is gathered for use with the VC7 workspace
creator.
flag_overrides Used to determine flags that have been overridden on a per
file basis.
custom_types The list of custom file types that may have been defined
in the mpc file or a base project.
fornotlast Insert the text on every foreach iteration except the last.
forlast Insert the text only on the last foreach iteration.
fornotfirst Insert the text on every foreach iteration except the first.
forfirst Insert the text only on the first foreach iteration.
forcount A one based index number of the foreach iterations.
Project Variable and Template Input Variable Interaction
--------------------------------------------------------
Project variables and template input variables are separate entities and in
the context of the TemplateParser, template input variables have precedence
over project variables.
This means that if the project keyword 'libout' is set in an MPC project and
is set as a template input variable, the template input variable value will
be used. There are exceptions to this rule. The following list shows the
project keywords that have their MPC project value appended to the template
input value (if there is a template input value).
libpaths
includes
libs
lit_libs
pure_libs
dynamicflags
staticflags
requires
avoids
macros
Workspaces
----------
Workspaces (mwc files) can have assignments similar to projects. There are
currently only two assignments allowed.
The first is 'cmdline'. The values given to the cmdline assignment will be
processed as command line options, but only to the projects that are
contained within the workspace (or the scope of the assignment). The only
valid command line options for cmdline are -base, -global, -include, -ti,
-template, -static, -relative, -notoplevel, -value_template
and -value_project.
The second assignment is 'implicit'. This assignment takes two different
types of values. It takes a boolean value (0 or 1) to indicate that an
implicit project should be created in directories that contain no mpc file,
but contain project related files (source, headers, etc.). The default
value for implicit is 0. It also takes a character string that represents a
base project (similar to the -base option). In this case, implicit is
enabled and each implicitly generate project file will have the base project
or base projects (when addition is used) when the project is created.
Defaulting Behavior
-------------------
1) If a project name is not specified
it will be defaulted to the name of the mpc file without the extension
2) If a particular list is not specified (Source_Files, Header_Files, etc.)
all of the files in the directory will be added to the corresponding list
by extension
3) If the custom type is automatic and custom files (ex. idl files) exist in
the directory and the custom files components (ex. IDL_Files) are left
defaulted (i.e. not listed) or the custom files components are specified
and none of the custom generated files are listed in the corresponding
lists
the custom files are added to the custom files component list if they
weren't specified and all of the (would be) generated files will be added
to the front of the corresponding lists (source, inline and header lists)
4) If files are listed in the Source_Files list and a corresponding header or
inline file exists
the corresponding file will be added to the corresponding list (if it
isn't already there)
5) If a sharedname is specified and staticname is not
staticname is assigned the sharedname value (the same applies if
staticname is specified and sharedname is not)
6) If exename is specified then the project target is considered an
executable. If neither exename, sharedname or staticname are used and
any of the source files listed contains a language dependent "main", then
the project target is considered an executable, otherwise it is considered
a library.
7) If pch_header is not specified and a header file matches *_pch.h
it is assumed to be the precompiled header file (the same applies to
pch_source)
Processing Order
----------------
1) Project file is read
2) Template input file is read
3) Template file is read
4) Output project is written