.:: 3/13/2002 ::. The Makefile, Project and Workspace Creator. Designed by Justin Michel and Chad Elliott. 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 (mpt 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 mpt 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 and .mpc files 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, vc8, and vc9 types exclude(vc6, vc71, vc8, vc9) { dir2/other_dir } // exclude unix_only for every type except gnuace and make exclude(!gnuace, !make) { dir2/unix_only } // exclude non_window for every windows project type exclude(prop:windows) { dir2/non_windows } // exclude microsoft_only for all non-microsoft project types exclude(!prop:microsoft) { dir2/microsoft_only } dir3 // Associate the name "other" with dir3 associate(other) { dir3 } specific(rpmspec) { rpm_version = 1.0 } } The associate scope associates a name with one or more directories. This does not add directories to a workspace, it only makes an association. This may or may not have an effect on the generated workspace; it depends solely upon whether the project type supports associations. Currently automake is the only project type that supports associations. Each directory listed under an association is grouped together and built conditionally based on the association name. Workspaces support a 'specific' clause conceptually and syntactically similar to the project 'specific' clause, described below. Any variables assigned within the clause are only available to workspaces, not to projects. Two sorts of assignments are possible: first are assignments to the keywords cmdline and implicit (described in the section 'Workspaces', below) and the second are type-specific variables. Consult the documentation for the type for details on type-specific variables. Keyword assignments (cmdline and implicit) impact the entire workspace, not just the 'specific' scope. Finally, prop:value are properties in MPC. They are used to group together common workspace/project types. More details on properties in MPC can be found in the section on the 'specific' keyword in the Project Declarations section below. 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 } } MPC expects all files to be listed with forward slashes (/) if a file name contains a directory. Providing files with back slashes (\) can cause unexpected results during generation. 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, staticname, after and libs. 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 buildflags This keyword can only be used as a source component scoped setting (ie. inside the scope of Source_Files). It specifies additional build flags that will be passed to the compiler as the source files are being compiled. dependent_upon This keyword can only be used as a header component scoped setting (ie. inside the scope of Header_Files). It determines which file the header file is dependent upon for vc8, and vc9 only. 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 exeout Specifies where executables will be placed (Previously known as install) managed This keyword can be used as a global setting or as a source component scoped setting (ie. inside the scope of Source_Files). It specifies that the source files should be compiled as managed C++. Since this is Microsoft specific, it is only supported by the nmake, vc7 - vc14, and vs* project types. no_pch This keyword can only be used as a source component scoped setting (ie. inside the scope of Source_Files). It specifies that precompiled headers should not be used for the source files listed within the scope of it's setting. 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. <%cmp%> - Platform non-specific compare command. <%cp%> - Platform non-specific copy command. <%mkdir%> - Platform non-specific mkdir command. <%mv%> - Platform non-specific move command. <%os%> - Returns either win32 or unix. <%rm%> - Platform non-specific delete command. <%rmdir%> - Platform non-specific recursive directory delete command. <%nul%> - Platform non-specific null device. <%pathsep%>- Platform non-specific path separator (; or :). <%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. <%slash%> - Platform non-specific directory separator. <%equote%> - Project non-specific escaped quote. <%crlf%> - Platform non-specific line ending. <%cmdsep%> - Project/platform non-specific command separator which always runs the right-hand side command. prebuild This is similar to postbuild except that it will be performed before the build instead of after. postclean This is similar to postbuild except that it will be performed after cleaning up the project (the realclean target for make based project types). NOTE: This is not used in the IDE based project types since there is no hook for such an action. 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 recursive_libpaths Specifies 1 or more locations to find libraries which will be added recursively. includes Specifies 1 or more locations to find include files libs Specifies 1 or more libraries to link into the exe or library recursive_includes Specifies 1 or more locations to find include files which will be added recursively. 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. The values specified for this variable are passed to the linker unmodified. after Specifies that this project must be built after 1 or more project names listed. An extended syntax is available in order to associate name-value pairs with a dependency: These name-value pairs may be used in the creation of the dependencies of the project. custom_only Create a project that contains only custom generation targets (any file type described by a Define_Custom section). This will automatically be set to 1 when a project contains no source or resource files, but does contain custom input files. 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(, [, 1]) { .. .. } When MPC is generating a project of type and comes upon a marker that matches the name, it will place the text found inside the construct directly into the generated project. If the third and optional parameter is passed and is true, the verbatim section will be added to existing verbatim settings at the same location. 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 or property. The syntax is as follows: specific( [, ...]) { lit_libs += c ... } or specific( [, ...]) { lit_libs += c ... } else { lit_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. The following property names are available: borland, make, microsoft, windows, and static. The table below shows which properties apply to which project types. The static property will be set if the -static option was supplied. Additionally, a property that corresponds to the language will be set (e.g., cplusplus, csharp, java, vb). | borland | make | microsoft | windows | ---------+---------+------+-----------+---------| automake | | X | | | bcb2007 | X | | | X | bcb2009 | X | | | X | bds4 | X | | | X | bmake | X | X | | X | cc | | | | X | em3 | | | X | X | ghs | | | | ? | iar | | | | X | make | | X | | | nmake | | X | X | X | uvis | | | | X | vc* | | | X | X | vs* | | | X | X | wix | | | | X | ? - indicates that this is controlled by the MPC_GHS_UNIX environment variable. 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. Scopes are available in some of the MPC templates. These scopes are created by using a template variable within a <%foreach%> context. The scope will be, one at a time, each space separated words within the template variable value. Variables can be modified using a scope modifier. For example, the word 'FOO' will be added to the template variable 'defines' when it is seen in the 'Debug' scope: specific { Debug::defines += FOO } expand This scope allows the specification for a variable that is found within $() to be expanded from the list of possible values. These possible values can contain environment variables (specified by $VAR_NAME) and plain text. If a possible value contains an environment variable and that variable is defined then this value is used to expand the $() variable. If the environment variable is not defined then this possible value is not used. The syntax is as follows: expand() { . . } conditional This scope allows addition of source files conditionally based on a particular project type or property as describe in the 'specific' section. The syntax is as follows: conditional( [, ...]) { source1.cpp ... } or conditional( [, ...]) { 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. webapp Determines whether the project is a Web Application or not. A web application project will have no project file written but the information will be included in the workspace (if web applications are supported by the project type). C# Specific Project Keywords ---------------------------- dependent_upon This can only be applied to source and resx components. It determines which file the source or resx file is dependent upon for vc8 - vc14, vs* only. generates_source This can only be applied to resx components. It indicates that the resx file or files auto generates a source file for vc8 - vc14, vs* only. A value of '1' indicates that the resx file generates a source file and the default generator is used. Any other value indicates that the resx file generates a source file and the generator name is taken from the value supplied. The auto generated name is created by taking the resx file without the extension and appending .Designer.cs. subtype This can only be applied to source and resx components. It determines the SubType setting for vc8 - vc14, vs* only. 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_in = 0 automatic_out = 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. Define_Custom definitions may use single inheritance. This is useful for creating aliased names: Define_Custom(QtMOC) : MOC { } Here is a list of keywords that can be used within the scope of Define_Custom or Modify_Custom: automatic This keyword is deprecated. Use automatic_in and automatic_out instead. automatic_in 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, automatic_in is assumed to be 1. automatic_out If set to 1, then attempt to automatically determine which generated files belong to the set of components (e.g., Source_Files, Header_Files, etc.) based on the type of file generated from the custom command. If set to 0, then no files are automatically added to the various components. If omitted, automatic_out is assumed to be 1. 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. 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. dependent_libs If this is given a value, then a dependency upon that library value will be given to all of the generated files. The format for this entry should be the basename for the library (no library prefix, postfix, or extension) preceded by any relative or absolute path to the library. The typical use for this would be so that a project is rebuilt when a library needs to be rebuilt for its dependent executable. The default for this is unset and no dependency will be generated. 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. output_follows_input This setting defaults to 1 and indicates that output files from the custom command will end up in the same directory as the input files. If this is set to 0, it is assumed that the output files will go into the same directory as the .mpc file. 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_dirname%> - The directory of the input file. <%input_noext%> - The input file with no extension. <%output_basename%> - The basename of the output file. <%output_dirname%> - The directory 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, in addition to all project settings, are valid for use within the command, commandflags, dependent, postcommand and output_option settings: <%and%> - Project non-specific and sign. <%cat%> - Platform non-specific command to cat a file. <%cmdsep%> - Project/platform non-specific command separator which always runs the right-hand side command. <%cp%> - Platform non-specific copy command. <%gendir%> - The output directory specified by the gendir setting. <%gt%> - Project non-specific greater than sign. <%lt%> - Project non-specific less than sign. <%nul%> - Platform non-specific null device. <%mkdir%> - Platform non-specific mkdir command. <%mv%> - Platform non-specific move command. <%or%> - Project non-specific or sign. <%quote%> - Project non-specific double quote. <%rm%> - Platform non-specific delete command. <%temporary%> - A temporary file name. <%prj_type%> - The project type supplied by the -type option. The following pseudo template variables will be set to the known extension for Windows and empty on non-Windows based project types. <%bat%> - The extension for batch files. <%cmd%> - The extension for command files. <%exe%> - The extension for executable files. 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. It should also be noted that use of automatically generated project settings, such as sharedname, exename, etc., may not exist at the time that a project setting is evaluated and will end up empty. To avoid this situation, explicitly set project settings that are going to be used within this context. 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 files. inline_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it only applies to inline files. header_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it only applies to header files. template_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it only applies to template files. resource_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it only applies to resource files. documentation_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it only applies to documentation files. generic_pre_extension This is the same as pre_extension except that it only applies to generic files. 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 files. inline_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it only applies to inline files. header_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it only applies to header files. template_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it only applies to template files. resource_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it only applies to resource files. documentation_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it only applies to documentation files. generic_pre_filename This is the same as pre_filename except that it only applies to generic files. pre_dirname This is similar to pre_filename except that the value is prepended to the directory portion of the file name instead of the file name itself. If a separate directory is desired, the pre_dirname setting should end in a slash. source_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to source files. inline_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to inline files. header_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to header files. template_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to template files. resource_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to resource files. documentation_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to documentation files. generic_pre_dirname This is the same as pre_dirname except that it only applies to generic files. 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_in = 0 automatic_out = 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, dependent_libs, 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_in = 0 automatic_out = 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 } } A Modify_Custom section can be used to modify an existing custom definition. The Define_Custom must be processed prior to processing a Modify_Custom section; otherwise, an error will occur. 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. Each feature will be logically anded together. The following feature definition requires that the qt feature be enabled. feature(qt) { Define_Custom(MOC) { automatic_in = 0 automatic_out = 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 By default, a one based index number of the foreach iterations. The base can be modified by providing a base number in the foreach as in the following examples: <%foreach(4, includes)%> ... <%endfor%> <%foreach(include, 4, includes)%> ... <%endfor%> If the list variable ('includes' in the above example) is a function call, it is necessary to provide both a variable name and a base count number. 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). All command line options are valid for cmdline, except for the following: -exclude, -for_eclipse, -gendot, -gfeature_file, -into, -make_coexistence, -noreldefs, and -recurse. 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 (both input and output) 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