Projects

Projects provide a useful way to organize and manage the creation of applications or components that consist of multiple files and/or libraries.

Projects are created using the Windows-IDE. When a project is open a dialog box appears in the IDE with list boxes containing the files and libraries in the project. This dialog box stays open for the current project. Closing the dialog box closes the project.

Creating a Project

To create a project select File / New Project. This displays the project dialog box. To save your project, select File / Save or close the dialog box. Project files are saved with a .ppj suffix.

Dialog Box

Projects are edited via the project dialog box and saved using the normal File/Save or File/SaveAs menu items when the project dialog is the active window in the IDE. Projects are automatically saved when the project is closed. The project dialog box contains the following items:

xpl File
Enter the name of the .xpl file to be created when linking. This can be a full pathname.
Project Directory
The pathname for the directory to make current for all operations on the project.
Operator Definitions
The name of a Prolog file containing the operator definitions used by the source files in the project. This entry is optional, but if it is included it will be compiled or consulted first, so the operator definitions are known to all files in the project. (Note that operators defined in libraries are automatically applied first, so those operators do not have to be defined in either the project source files or the operator definition file.
Project Files
The list of .pro or .plm files included in the project. The extension is used when consulting the project into the listener. .pro Files are consulted as text files and .plm files are loaded as object files. The 'Add File' button adds one or more files. 'Remove File' removes a file from the project. The 'pro->plm' button changes a file extension.
Library Files
The list of .plm files included in the project (usually from the amzi/abin directory).

Consulting/Loading

In the Windows-IDE, you can consult and/or load all the files in your project into the listener by pressing the 'Re' button or by selecting Listener / Consult or Listener / Reconsult.

All the .pro files are consulted, and the .plm files and libraries are loaded.

Building

Using the Windows-IDE, you can compile all the modified files, and link all the project files and libraries into an .xpl file by pressing the BLD button or by selecting Build / Build.

Using the command-line, you can do the same by invoking abld on the project as follows:

c> abld ducky.ppj

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