path: root/SCons/Script/SConscript.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
Copyright The SCons Foundation

This file is processed by the bin/SConsDoc.py module.
See its __doc__ string for a discussion of the format.
-->

<!DOCTYPE sconsdoc [
<!ENTITY % scons SYSTEM '../../doc/scons.mod'>
%scons;
<!ENTITY % builders-mod SYSTEM '../../doc/generated/builders.mod'>
%builders-mod;
<!ENTITY % functions-mod SYSTEM '../../doc/generated/functions.mod'>
%functions-mod;
<!ENTITY % tools-mod SYSTEM '../../doc/generated/tools.mod'>
%tools-mod;
<!ENTITY % variables-mod SYSTEM '../../doc/generated/variables.mod'>
%variables-mod;
]>

<sconsdoc xmlns="http://www.scons.org/dbxsd/v1.0"
          xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
          xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.scons.org/dbxsd/v1.0 http://www.scons.org/dbxsd/v1.0/scons.xsd">


<scons_function name="Default">
<arguments>
(target[, ...])
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Specify default targets to the &SCons; target selection mechanism.
Any call to &f-Default; will cause &SCons; to use the
defined default target list instead of
its built-in algorithm for determining default targets
(see the manpage section "Target Selection").
</para>

<para>
<parameter>target</parameter> may be one or more strings,
a list of strings,
a <classname>NodeList</classname> as returned by a Builder,
or <constant>None</constant>.
A string <parameter>target</parameter> may be the name of
a file or directory, or a target previously defined by a call to
&f-link-Alias; (defining the alias later will still create
the alias, but it will not be recognized as a default).
Calls to &f-Default; are additive.
A <parameter>target</parameter> of
<literal>None</literal>
will clear any existing default target list;
subsequent calls to
&f-Default;
will add to the (now empty) default target list
like normal.
</para>

<para>
Both forms of this call affect the
same global list of default targets; the
construction environment method applies
construction variable expansion to the targets.
</para>

<para>
The current list of targets added using
&f-Default; is available in the
&DEFAULT_TARGETS; list (see below).
</para>

<para>
Examples:
</para>

<example_commands>
Default('foo', 'bar', 'baz')
env.Default(['a', 'b', 'c'])
hello = env.Program('hello', 'hello.c')
env.Default(hello)
</example_commands>

</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="EnsurePythonVersion">
<arguments>
(major, minor)
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Ensure that the Python version is at least
<varname>major</varname>.<varname>minor</varname>.
This function will
print out an error message and exit SCons with a non-zero exit code if the
actual Python version is not late enough.
</para>

<para>
Example:
</para>

<example_commands>
EnsurePythonVersion(2,2)
</example_commands>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="EnsureSConsVersion">
<arguments>
(major, minor, [revision])
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Ensure that the SCons version is at least
<varname>major.minor</varname>,
or
<varname>major.minor.revision</varname>.
if
<varname>revision</varname>
is specified.
This function will
print out an error message and exit SCons with a non-zero exit code if the
actual SCons version is not late enough.
</para>

<para>
Examples:
</para>

<example_commands>
EnsureSConsVersion(0,14)

EnsureSConsVersion(0,96,90)
</example_commands>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="Exit">
<arguments>
([value])
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
This tells
&scons;
to exit immediately
with the specified
<varname>value</varname>.
A default exit value of
<literal>0</literal>
(zero)
is used if no value is specified.
</para>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="Export">
<arguments>
([vars...], [key=value...])
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Exports variables from the current
SConscript file to a global collection where they can be
imported by other SConscript files.
<parameter>vars</parameter> may be one or more
strings representing variable names to be exported.
If a string contains whitespace, it is split into
separate strings, as if multiple string arguments
had been given.  A <parameter>vars</parameter> argument
may also be a dictionary, which can be used to map variables
to different names when exported.
Keyword arguments can be used to provide names and their values.
</para>

<para>
&f-Export; calls are cumulative. Specifying a previously
exported variable will overwrite the earlier value.
Both local variables and global variables can be exported.
</para>

<para>
Examples:
</para>

<example_commands>
env = Environment()
# Make env available for all SConscript files to Import().
Export("env")

package = 'my_name'
# Make env and package available for all SConscript files:.
Export("env", "package")

# Make env and package available for all SConscript files:
Export(["env", "package"])

# Make env available using the name debug:
Export(debug=env)

# Make env available using the name debug:
Export({"debug": env})
</example_commands>

<para>
Note that the
&f-link-SConscript;
function supports an &exports;
argument that allows exporting a variable or
set of variables to a specific SConscript file or files.
See the description below.
</para>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="GetLaunchDir">
<arguments>
()
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Returns the absolute path name of the directory from which
&scons;
was initially invoked.
This can be useful when using the
<option>-u</option>,
<option>-U</option>
or
<option>-D</option>
options, which internally
change to the directory in which the
&SConstruct;
file is found.
</para>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="Help">
<arguments>
(text, append=False)
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Specifies a local help message to be printed if the
<option>-h</option>
argument is given to
&scons;.
Subsequent calls to
&f-Help;
append <parameter>text</parameter> to the previously
defined local help text.
</para>
<para>
For the first call to &f-Help; only,
if <parameter>append</parameter> is <constant>False</constant>
(the default)
any local help message generated through
&f-link-AddOption; calls is replaced.
If <parameter>append</parameter> is <constant>True</constant>,
<parameter>text</parameter> is appended to
the existing help text.
</para>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="Import">
<arguments>
(vars...)
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Imports variables into the current SConscript file.
<parameter>vars</parameter>
must be strings representing names of variables
which have been previously exported either by the
&f-link-Export; function or by the
&exports; argument to
&f-link-SConscript;.
Variables exported by
&f-SConscript;
take precedence.
Multiple variable names can be passed to
&f-Import;
as separate arguments or as words in a space-separated string.
The wildcard <literal>"*"</literal> can be used to import all
available variables.
</para>

<para>
Examples:
</para>

<example_commands>
Import("env")
Import("env", "variable")
Import(["env", "variable"])
Import("*")
</example_commands>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="Return">
<arguments signature="global">
([vars..., stop=True])
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Return to the calling SConscript, optionally
returning the values of variables named in
<varname>vars</varname>.
Multiple strings contaning variable names may be passed to
&f-Return;. A string containing white space
is split into individual variable names.
Returns the value if one variable is specified,
else returns a tuple of values.
Returns an empty tuple if <parameter>vars</parameter>
is omitted.
</para>

<para>
By default &Return; stops processing the current SConscript
and returns immediately.
The optional
<literal>stop</literal>
keyword argument
may be set to a false value
to continue processing the rest of the SConscript
file after the
&f-Return;
call (this was the default behavior prior to SCons 0.98.)
However, the values returned
are still the values of the variables in the named
<varname>vars</varname>
at the point
&f-Return;
was called.
</para>

<para>
Examples:
</para>

<example_commands>
# Returns no values (evaluates False)
Return()

# Returns the value of the 'foo' Python variable.
Return("foo")

# Returns the values of the Python variables 'foo' and 'bar'.
Return("foo", "bar")

# Returns the values of Python variables 'val1' and 'val2'.
Return('val1 val2')
</example_commands>
</summary>
</scons_function>

<scons_function name="SConscript">
<arguments>
(scripts, [exports, variant_dir, duplicate, must_exist])
<!-- (scripts, [exports, variant_dir, src_dir, duplicate, must_exist]) -->
</arguments>
<arguments>
(dirs=subdirs, [name=script, exports, variant_dir, duplicate, must_exist])
<!-- (dirs=subdirs, [name=script, exports, variant_dir, src_dir, duplicate, must_exist]) -->
</arguments>
<summary>
<para>
Execute one or more subsidiary SConscript (configuration) files.
There are two ways to call the
&f-SConscript; function.
</para>

<para>
The first calling style
is to explicitly specify one or more
<varname>scripts</varname>
as the first argument.
A single script may be specified as a string;
multiple scripts must be specified as a list
(either explicitly or as created by
a function like
&f-link-Split;).
Examples:
</para>
<example_commands>
SConscript('SConscript')      # run SConscript in the current directory
SConscript('src/SConscript')  # run SConscript in the src directory
SConscript(['src/SConscript', 'doc/SConscript'])
config = SConscript('MyConfig.py')
</example_commands>

<para>
The second way to call
&f-SConscript;
is to specify a list of (sub)directory names
as a
<varname>dirs</varname>=<replaceable>subdirs</replaceable>
keyword argument.
In this case,
&scons;
will
execute a subsidiary configuration file named
&SConscript;
in each of the specified directories.
You may specify a name other than
&SConscript;
by supplying an optional
<varname>name</varname>=<replaceable>script</replaceable>
keyword argument.
The first three examples below have the same effect
as the first three examples above:
</para>
<example_commands>
SConscript(dirs='.')      # run SConscript in the current directory
SConscript(dirs='src')    # run SConscript in the src directory
SConscript(dirs=['src', 'doc'])
SConscript(dirs=['sub1', 'sub2'], name='MySConscript')
</example_commands>

<para>
The optional
<varname>exports</varname>
argument provides a string or list of strings representing
variable names, or a dictionary of named values, to export.
These variables are locally exported only to the called
SConscript file(s)
and do not affect the global pool of variables managed by the
&f-link-Export;
function.
<!-- If multiple dirs are provided, each script gets a fresh export. -->
The subsidiary SConscript files
must use the
&f-link-Import;
function to import the variables.
Examples:
</para>
<example_commands>
foo = SConscript('sub/SConscript', exports='env')
SConscript('dir/SConscript', exports=['env', 'variable'])
SConscript(dirs='subdir', exports='env variable')
SConscript(dirs=['one', 'two', 'three'], exports='shared_info')
</example_commands>

<para>
If the optional
<varname>variant_dir</varname>
argument is present, it causes an effect equivalent to the
&f-link-VariantDir; function.
The <varname>variant_dir</varname>
argument is interpreted relative to the directory of the calling
SConscript file.
The optional
<varname>duplicate</varname> argument is
interpreted as for &f-link-VariantDir;.
If <varname>variant_dir</varname>
is omitted, the <varname>duplicate</varname> argument is ignored.
See the description of
&f-link-VariantDir;
below for additional details and restrictions.
</para>

<para>
If
<varname>variant_dir</varname>
is present,
the source directory is the directory in which the
SConscript
file resides and the
SConscript
file is evaluated as if it were in the
<varname>variant_dir</varname>
directory:
</para>
<example_commands>
SConscript('src/SConscript', variant_dir='build')
</example_commands>

<para>
is equivalent to
</para>

<example_commands>
VariantDir('build', 'src')
SConscript('build/SConscript')
</example_commands>

<para>
This later paradigm is often used when the sources are
in the same directory as the
&SConstruct;:
</para>

<example_commands>
SConscript('SConscript', variant_dir='build')
</example_commands>

<para>
is equivalent to
</para>

<example_commands>
VariantDir('build', '.')
SConscript('build/SConscript')
</example_commands>

<para>
<!--
If
<varname>variant_dir</varname>
and"
<varname>src_dir</varname>
are both present,
xxxxx everything is in a state of confusion.
</para>
<example_commands>
SConscript(dirs = 'src', variant_dir = 'build', src_dir = '.')
runs src/SConscript in build/src, but
SConscript(dirs = 'lib', variant_dir = 'build', src_dir = 'src')
runs lib/SConscript (in lib!).  However,
SConscript(dirs = 'src', variant_dir = 'build', src_dir = 'src')
runs src/SConscript in build.  Moreover,
SConscript(dirs = 'src/lib', variant_dir = 'build', src_dir = 'src')
runs src/lib/SConscript in build/lib.  Moreover,
SConscript(dirs = 'build/src/lib', variant_dir = 'build', src_dir = 'src')
can't find build/src/lib/SConscript, even though it ought to exist.
</example_commands>
<para>
is equivalent to
</para>
<example_commands>
????????????????
</example_commands>
<para>
and what about this alternative?
TODO??? SConscript('build/SConscript', src_dir='src')
-->
</para>

<para>
If the optional
<varname>must_exist</varname>
is <constant>True</constant>,
causes an exception to be raised if a requested
SConscript file is not found. The current default is
<constant>False</constant>,
causing only a warning to be emitted, but this default is deprecated
(<emphasis>since 3.1</emphasis>).
For scripts which truly intend to be optional, transition to
explicitly supplying
<literal>must_exist=False</literal> to the &f-SConscript; call.
</para>

<para>
Here are some composite examples:
</para>

<example_commands>
# collect the configuration information and use it to build src and doc
shared_info = SConscript('MyConfig.py')
SConscript('src/SConscript', exports='shared_info')
SConscript('doc/SConscript', exports='shared_info')
</example_commands>

<example_commands>
# build debugging and production versions.  SConscript
# can use Dir('.').path to determine variant.
SConscript('SConscript', variant_dir='debug', duplicate=0)
SConscript('SConscript', variant_dir='prod', duplicate=0)
</example_commands>

<example_commands>
# build debugging and production versions.  SConscript
# is passed flags to use.
opts = { 'CPPDEFINES' : ['DEBUG'], 'CCFLAGS' : '-pgdb' }
SConscript('SConscript', variant_dir='debug', duplicate=0, exports=opts)
opts = { 'CPPDEFINES' : ['NODEBUG'], 'CCFLAGS' : '-O' }
SConscript('SConscript', variant_dir='prod', duplicate=0, exports=opts)
</example_commands>

<example_commands>
# build common documentation and compile for different architectures
SConscript('doc/SConscript', variant_dir='build/doc', duplicate=0)
SConscript('src/SConscript', variant_dir='build/x86', duplicate=0)
SConscript('src/SConscript', variant_dir='build/ppc', duplicate=0)
</example_commands>

<para>
&f-SConscript; returns the values of any variables
named by the executed SConscript(s) in arguments
to the &f-link-Return; function (see above for details).
If a single &f-SConscript; call causes multiple scripts to
be executed, the return value is a tuple containing
the returns of all of the scripts. If an executed
script does not explicitly call &Return;, it returns
<constant>None</constant>.
</para>

</summary>
</scons_function>

</sconsdoc>