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IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. --> <!-- =head2 Adding new methods For slightly more demanding changes, you may wish to add new methods to the C<cons> package. Here's an example of a very simple extension, C<InstallScript>, which installs a tcl script in a requested location, but edits the script first to reflect a platform-dependent path that needs to be installed in the script: # cons::InstallScript - Create a platform dependent version of a shell # script by replacing string ``#!your-path-here'' with platform specific # path $BIN_DIR. sub cons::InstallScript { my ($env, $dst, $src) = @_; Command $env $dst, $src, qq( sed s+your-path-here+$BIN_DIR+ %< > %> chmod oug+x %> ); } Notice that this method is defined directly in the C<cons> package (by prefixing the name with C<cons::>). A change made in this manner will be globally visible to all environments, and could be called as in the following example: InstallScript $env "$BIN/foo", "foo.tcl"; For a small improvement in generality, the C<BINDIR> variable could be passed in as an argument or taken from the construction environment-,-as C<%BINDIR>. =head2 Overriding methods Instead of adding the method to the C<cons> name space, you could define a new package which inherits existing methods from the C<cons> package and overrides or adds others. This can be done using Perl's inheritance mechanisms. The following example defines a new package C<cons::switch> which overrides the standard C<Library> method. The overridden method builds linked library modules, rather than library archives. A new constructor is provided. Environments created with this constructor will have the new library method; others won't. package cons::switch; BEGIN {@ISA = 'cons'} sub new { shift; bless new cons(@_); } sub Library { my($env) = shift; my($lib) = shift; my(@objs) = Objects $env @_; Command $env $lib, @objs, q( %LD -r %LDFLAGS %< -o %> ); } This functionality could be invoked as in the following example: $env = new cons::switch(@overrides); ... Library $env 'lib.o', 'foo.c', 'bar.c'; --> <para> Although &SCons; provides many useful methods for building common software products: programs, libraries, documents. you frequently want to be able to build some other type of file not supported directly by &SCons;. Fortunately, &SCons; makes it very easy to define your own &Builder; objects for any custom file types you want to build. (In fact, the &SCons; interfaces for creating &Builder; objects are flexible enough and easy enough to use that all of the the &SCons; built-in &Builder; objects are created the mechanisms described in this section.) </para> <section> <title>Writing Builders That Execute External Commands</title> <para> The simplest &Builder; to create is one that executes an external command. For example, if we want to build an output file by running the contents of the input file through a command named <literal>foobuild</literal>, creating that &Builder; might look like: </para> <programlisting> bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild < $SOURCE > $TARGET') </programlisting> <para> All the above line does is create a free-standing &Builder; object. The next section will show us how to actually use it. </para> </section> <section> <title>Attaching a Builder to a &ConsEnv;</title> <para> A &Builder; object isn't useful until it's attached to a &consenv; so that we can call it to arrange for files to be built. This is done through the &cv-link-BUILDERS; &consvar; in an environment. The &cv-BUILDERS; variable is a Python dictionary that maps the names by which you want to call various &Builder; objects to the objects themselves. For example, if we want to call the &Builder; we just defined by the name <function>Foo</function>, our &SConstruct; file might look like: </para> <programlisting> bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild < $SOURCE > $TARGET') env = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) </programlisting> <para> With the &Builder; attached to our &consenv; with the name <function>Foo</function>, we can now actually call it like so: </para> <programlisting> env.Foo('file.foo', 'file.input') </programlisting> <para> Then when we run &SCons; it looks like: </para> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> foobuild < file.input > file.foo </screen> <para> Note, however, that the default &cv-BUILDERS; variable in a &consenv; comes with a default set of &Builder; objects already defined: &b-link-Program;, &b-link-Library;, etc. And when we explicitly set the &cv-BUILDERS; variable when we create the &consenv;, the default &Builder;s are no longer part of the environment: </para> <!-- The ToolSurrogate stuff that's used to capture output initializes SCons.Defaults.ConstructionEnvironment with its own list of TOOLS. In this next example, we want to show the user that when they set the BUILDERS explicitly, the call to env.Program() generates an AttributeError. This won't happen with all of the default ToolSurrogates in the default construction environment. To make the AttributeError show up, we have to overwite the default construction environment's TOOLS variable so Program() builder doesn't show up. We do this by executing a slightly different SConstruct file than the one we print in the guide, with two extra statements at the front that overwrite the TOOLS variable as described. Note that we have to jam those statements on to the first line to keep the line number in the generated error consistent with what the user will see in the User's Guide. --> <programlisting> bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild < $SOURCE > $TARGET') env = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) env.Foo('file.foo', 'file.input') env.Program('hello.c') </programlisting> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> AttributeError: SConsEnvironment instance has no attribute 'Program': File "/home/my/project/SConstruct", line 4: env.Program('hello.c') </screen> <para> To be able to use both our own defined &Builder; objects and the default &Builder; objects in the same &consenv;, you can either add to the &cv-BUILDERS; variable using the &Append; function: </para> <programlisting> env = Environment() bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild < $SOURCE > $TARGET') env.Append(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) env.Foo('file.foo', 'file.input') env.Program('hello.c') </programlisting> <para> Or you can explicitly set the appropriately-named key in the &cv-BUILDERS; dictionary: </para> <programlisting> env = Environment() bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild < $SOURCE > $TARGET') env['BUILDERS']['Foo'] = bld env.Foo('file.foo', 'file.input') env.Program('hello.c') </programlisting> <para> Either way, the same &consenv; can then use both the newly-defined <function>Foo</function> &Builder; and the default &b-link-Program; &Builder;: </para> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> foobuild < file.input > file.foo cc -o hello.o -c hello.c cc -o hello hello.o </screen> </section> <section> <title>Letting &SCons; Handle The File Suffixes</title> <para> By supplying additional information when you create a &Builder;, you can let &SCons; add appropriate file suffixes to the target and/or the source file. For example, rather than having to specify explicitly that you want the <literal>Foo</literal> &Builder; to build the <literal>file.foo</literal> target file from the <literal>file.input</literal> source file, you can give the <literal>.foo</literal> and <literal>.input</literal> suffixes to the &Builder;, making for more compact and readable calls to the <literal>Foo</literal> &Builder;: </para> <programlisting> bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild < $SOURCE > $TARGET', suffix = '.foo', src_suffix = '.input') env = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) env.Foo('file1') env.Foo('file2') </programlisting> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> foobuild < file1.input > file1.foo foobuild < file2.input > file2.foo </screen> <para> You can also supply a <literal>prefix</literal> keyword argument if it's appropriate to have &SCons; append a prefix to the beginning of target file names. </para> </section> <section> <title>Builders That Execute Python Functions</title> <para> In &SCons;, you don't have to call an external command to build a file. You can, instead, define a Python function that a &Builder; object can invoke to build your target file (or files). Such a &buildfunc; definition looks like: </para> <programlisting> def build_function(target, source, env): # Code to build "target" from "source" return None </programlisting> <para> The arguments of a &buildfunc; are: </para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>target</term> <listitem> <para> A list of Node objects representing the target or targets to be built by this builder function. The file names of these target(s) may be extracted using the Python &str; function. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>source</term> <listitem> <para> A list of Node objects representing the sources to be used by this builder function to build the targets. The file names of these source(s) may be extracted using the Python &str; function. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>env</term> <listitem> <para> The &consenv; used for building the target(s). The builder function may use any of the environment's construction variables in any way to affect how it builds the targets. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> <para> The builder function must return a <literal>0</literal> or <literal>None</literal> value if the target(s) are built successfully. The builder function may raise an exception or return any non-zero value to indicate that the build is unsuccessful, </para> <para> Once you've defined the Python function that will build your target file, defining a &Builder; object for it is as simple as specifying the name of the function, instead of an external command, as the &Builder;'s <literal>action</literal> argument: </para> <programlisting> def build_function(target, source, env): # Code to build "target" from "source" return None bld = Builder(action = build_function, suffix = '.foo', src_suffix = '.input') env = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) env.Foo('file') </programlisting> <para> And notice that the output changes slightly, reflecting the fact that a Python function, not an external command, is now called to build the target file: </para> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> build_function(["file.foo"], ["file.input"]) </screen> </section> <section> <title>Builders That Create Actions Using a &Generator;</title> <para> &SCons; Builder objects can create an action "on the fly" by using a function called a &generator;. This provides a great deal of flexibility to construct just the right list of commands to build your target. A &generator; looks like: </para> <programlisting> def generate_actions(source, target, env, for_signature): return 'foobuild < %s > %s' % (target[0], source[0]) </programlisting> <para> The arguments of a &generator; are: </para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>source</term> <listitem> <para> A list of Node objects representing the sources to be built by the command or other action generated by this function. The file names of these source(s) may be extracted using the Python &str; function. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>target</term> <listitem> <para> A list of Node objects representing the target or targets to be built by the command or other action generated by this function. The file names of these target(s) may be extracted using the Python &str; function. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>env</term> <listitem> <para> The &consenv; used for building the target(s). The generator may use any of the environment's construction variables in any way to determine what command or other action to return. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>for_signature</term> <listitem> <para> A flag that specifies whether the generator is being called to contribute to a build signature, as opposed to actually executing the command. <!-- XXX NEED MORE HERE, describe generators use in signatures --> </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> <para> The &generator; must return a command string or other action that will be used to build the specified target(s) from the specified source(s). </para> <para> Once you've defined a &generator;, you create a &Builder; to use it by specifying the generator keyword argument instead of <literal>action</literal>. </para> <programlisting> def generate_actions(source, target, env, for_signature): return 'foobuild < %s > %s' % (source[0], target[0]) bld = Builder(generator = generate_actions, suffix = '.foo', src_suffix = '.input') env = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) env.Foo('file') </programlisting> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> foobuild < file.input > file.foo </screen> <para> Note that it's illegal to specify both an <literal>action</literal> and a <literal>generator</literal> for a &Builder;. </para> </section> <section> <title>Builders That Modify the Target or Source Lists Using an &Emitter;</title> <para> &SCons; supports the ability for a Builder to modify the lists of target(s) from the specified source(s). You do this by defining an &emitter; function that takes as its arguments the list of the targets passed to the builder, the list of the sources passed to the builder, and the construction environment. The emitter function should return the modified lists of targets that should be built and sources from which the targets will be built. </para> <para> For example, suppose you want to define a Builder that always calls a <filename>foobuild</filename> program, and you want to automatically add a new target file named <filename>new_target</filename> and a new source file named <filename>new_source</filename> whenever it's called. The &SConstruct; file might look like this: </para> <programlisting> def modify_targets(target, source, env): target.append('new_target') source.append('new_source') return target, source bld = Builder(action = 'foobuild $TARGETS - $SOURCES', suffix = '.foo', src_suffix = '.input', emitter = modify_targets) env = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}) env.Foo('file') </programlisting> <para> And would yield the following output: </para> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> foobuild file.foo new_target - file.input new_source </screen> <para> One very flexible thing that you can do is use a construction variable to specify different emitter functions for different construction variable. To do this, specify a string containing a construction variable expansion as the emitter when you call the &Builder; function, and set that construction variable to the desired emitter function in different construction environments: </para> <programlisting> bld = Builder(action = 'my_command $SOURCES > $TARGET', suffix = '.foo', src_suffix = '.input', emitter = '$MY_EMITTER') def modify1(target, source, env): return target, source + ['modify1.in'] def modify2(target, source, env): return target, source + ['modify2.in'] env1 = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}, MY_EMITTER = modify1) env2 = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}, MY_EMITTER = modify2) env1.Foo('file1') env2.Foo('file2') import os env1['ENV']['PATH'] = env2['ENV']['PATH'] + os.pathsep + os.getcwd() env2['ENV']['PATH'] = env2['ENV']['PATH'] + os.pathsep + os.getcwd() </programlisting> <programlisting> bld = Builder(action = 'my_command $SOURCES > $TARGET', suffix = '.foo', src_suffix = '.input', emitter = '$MY_EMITTER') def modify1(target, source, env): return target, source + ['modify1.in'] def modify2(target, source, env): return target, source + ['modify2.in'] env1 = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}, MY_EMITTER = modify1) env2 = Environment(BUILDERS = {'Foo' : bld}, MY_EMITTER = modify2) env1.Foo('file1') env2.Foo('file2') </programlisting> <para> In this example, the <filename>modify1.in</filename> and <filename>modify2.in</filename> files get added to the source lists of the different commands: </para> <screen> % <userinput>scons -Q</userinput> my_command file1.input modify1.in > file1.foo my_command file2.input modify2.in > file2.foo </screen> </section> <section> <title>Where To Put Your Custom Builders and Tools</title> <para> The <filename>site_scons</filename> directory gives you a place to put Python modules you can import into your SConscripts (site_scons), add-on tools that can integrate into &SCons; (site_scons/site_tools), and a site_scons/site_init.py file that gets read before any &SConstruct; or &SConscript;, allowing you to change &SCons;'s default behavior. </para> <para> If you get a tool from somewhere (the &SCons; wiki or a third party, for instance) and you'd like to use it in your project, the <filename>site_scons</filename> dir is the simplest place to put it. Tools come in two flavors; either a Python function that operates on an &Environment; or a Python file containing two functions, exists() and generate(). </para> <para> A single-function Tool can just be included in your <filename>site_scons/site_init.py</filename> file where it will be parsed and made available for use. For instance, you could have a <filename>site_scons/site_init.py</filename> file like this: </para> <programlisting> def TOOL_ADD_HEADER(env): """A Tool to add a header from $HEADER to the source file""" add_header = Builder(action=['echo "$HEADER" > $TARGET', 'cat $SOURCE >> $TARGET']) env.Append(BUILDERS = {'AddHeader' : add_header}) env['HEADER'] = '' # set default value </programlisting> <para> and a &SConstruct; like this: </para> <programlisting> # Use TOOL_ADD_HEADER from site_scons/site_init.py env=Environment(tools=['default', TOOL_ADD_HEADER], HEADER="=====") env.AddHeader('tgt', 'src') </programlisting> <para> The <function>TOOL_ADD_HEADER</function> tool method will be called to add the <function>AddHeader</function> tool to the environment. </para> <!-- <scons_output example="site1" os="posix"> <scons_output_command>scons -Q</scons_output_command> </scons_output> --> <para> Similarly, a more full-fledged tool with <function>exists()</function> and <function>generate()</function> methods can be installed in <filename>site_scons/site_tools/toolname.py</filename>. Since <filename>site_scons/site_tools</filename> is automatically added to the head of the tool search path, any tool found there will be available to all environments. Furthermore, a tool found there will override a built-in tool of the same name, so if you need to change the behavior of a built-in tool, site_scons gives you the hook you need. </para> <para> Many people have a library of utility Python functions they'd like to include in &SConscript;s; just put that module in <filename>site_scons/my_utils.py</filename> or any valid Python module name of your choice. For instance you can do something like this in <filename>site_scons/my_utils.py</filename> to add build_id and MakeWorkDir functions: </para> <programlisting> from SCons.Script import * # for Execute and Mkdir def build_id(): """Return a build ID (stub version)""" return "100" def MakeWorkDir(workdir): """Create the specified dir immediately""" Execute(Mkdir(workdir)) </programlisting> <para> And then in your &SConscript; or any sub-&SConscript; anywhere in your build, you can import <filename>my_utils</filename> and use it: </para> <programlisting> import my_utils print "build_id=" + my_utils.build_id() my_utils.MakeWorkDir('/tmp/work') </programlisting> <para> Note that although you can put this library in <filename>site_scons/site_init.py</filename>, it is no better there than <filename>site_scons/my_utils.py</filename> since you still have to import that module into your &SConscript;. Also note that in order to refer to objects in the SCons namespace such as &Environment; or &Mkdir; or &Execute; in any file other than a &SConstruct; or &SConscript; you always need to do </para> <programlisting> from SCons.Script import * </programlisting> <para> This is true in modules in <filename>site_scons</filename> such as <filename>site_scons/site_init.py</filename> as well. </para> <para> If you have a machine-wide site dir you'd like to use instead of <filename>./site_scons</filename>, use the <literal>--site-dir</literal> option to point to your dir. <filename>site_init.py</filename> and <filename>site_tools</filename> will be located under that dir. To avoid using a <filename>site_scons</filename> dir at all, even if it exists, use the <literal>--no-site-dir</literal> option. </para> </section> <!-- <section> <title>Builders That Use Other Builders</title> <para> XXX para </para> <scons_example name="ex8"> <file name="SConstruct" printme="1"> env = Environment() #env.SourceCode('.', env.BitKeeper('my_command')) env.Program('hello.c') </file> <file name="hello.c"> hello.c </file> </scons_example> <scons_output example="ex8"> <scons_output_command>scons -Q</scons_output_command> </scons_output> </section> -->