
                            The compile Command

   The compile command is the SmartEiffel compiler. There are two
   invocation modes: traditional and ACE. In traditional mode, a variety
   of compiler options can be specified on the command line. In ACE mode,
   these options are not permitted; it is presumed that the required
   compiler options are listed in the ACE file.

   Usage

   Traditional mode
   compile [general_options] [[1]compile_to_c_options]
     <RootClass> [<RootProcedure>]

   ACE mode
   compile [general_options] <ACEfile.ace>

   In ACE mode, the name of the ACE file must end with the .ace suffix.
   For examples of how to use ACE files, have a look in the
   SmartEiffel/tutorial/ace directory.

   Source code is in Eiffel and target code is in ANSI C.

   The compile command executes in two major steps:

   Step 1 - the compile_to_c command is called to produce various C files
   (*.h and *.c). A script file is also produced by compile_to_c. The
   name of the script file is also printed by compile_to_c (*.make on
   Unix or *.BAT on DOS, for example).
   Step 2 - The script file produced during step 1 is run, launching the
   C compilation(s) and linking of all the C files produced during the
   previous step.

   Thus, the compile command is a simple launcher used to call the
   [2]compile_to_c command, the C compiler, and the linker in sequence.

   Like the compile_to_c command, the compile command must have at least
   one argument to indicate the starting execution point of the system.
   Thus execution will start in <RootProcedure> of <RootClass>. The
   default <RootProcedure> is make.

   General Options

   -clean:
          By default, the generated C files and object files are retained
          from one invocation of the compile command to another. This
          enables incremental C compilation, since only the C files which
          have been modified since the last invocation of the compile
          command will be recompiled. Because the Eiffel to C compilation
          performed by SmartEiffel is generally much faster than the C
          compilation itself, incremental C compilation saves time.
          However, there are situations where you want to get rid of all
          the previously generated C and object files, to start afresh.
          The -clean option removes the C files, object files and some
          other previously generated files, by invoking the clean command
          at the end of the compilation.
   -help:
          Display a brief summary of the command-line syntax and a
          complete list of compiler options.
   -verbose:
          Displays (a lot of) useful information during the compilation
          (full path of loaded files, type inference score, generated
          files, etc.).
   -version:
          Display the version number of the SmartEiffel release you're
          using.

   Examples of Traditional Mode

   Example 1
   When SmartEiffel is correctly installed, you can type the following
   command to test the "hello world" program:
          compile hello_world

   The compiler should tell you what's wrong or should compile Eiffel
   source files telling you the full path used to load the Eiffel source
   code.
   Under UNIX, the executable file is named "a.out" by default.

   Example 2
   Type the following command to finalize the hello_world simple program:
          compile -boost -no_split -O3 hello_world

   Note that the -O3 option is passed to the C compiler (see the manual
   of your C compiler). The -boost and -no_split options are passed to
   the [3]compile_to_c command. This is usually the best way to finalize
   your application.
   Only one C file is produced (option -no_split).

   Example 3
   To compile a big project (class PROJECT) with C file splitting and
   require assertions checked:
          compile -require_check project

   The very first time, all C files are produced and compiled. Then, if
   you type the same command after some changes in the Eiffel source
   files, all C files are also produced from scratch. If there are only
   minor changes in the generated C files, only modified ones are passed
   to the C compiler (previous object files have been saved).

                                   [Line]
             Copyright © Dominique COLNET and Suzanne COLLIN -
                         [4]<SmartEiffel@loria.fr>
               Last modified: Fri Sep 6 09:34:37 MET DST 2002
                                      

References

   1. file://localhost/home/colnet/man/compile_to_c.html
   2. file://localhost/home/colnet/man/compile_to_c.html
   3. file://localhost/home/colnet/man/compile_to_c.html
   4. mailto:SmartEiffel@loria.fr
