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SmallEiffel Tools: compile_to_c

Syntax

compile_to_c [options] Root-Class [Root-Procedure] [*.c] [*.o] [-l*]

compile_to_c is the SmallEiffel ANSI C code generator. Usually this command is automatically called by compile but you can use it separately to produce C code.

compile_to_c must have at least one argument to indicate the starting execution point of the system. Thus your program will start in Root-Procedure of Root-Class. The default Root-Procedure is make.

compile_to_c produces all the required C files as well as a script file. The name of this script file changes with the operating system used (*.make on Unix or *.BAT on DOS for example).

1. Options to select the Eiffel compilation mode
There are 8 modes of compilation given by the following options names: -debug_check -all_check -loop_check -invariant_check -ensure_check -require_check -no_check and -boost option. Only one mode can be selected for the whole system to compile. Mode -all_check is the default one.

-boost:
This is the compilation mode with the highest degree of optimization.
There is no test for the target's existence and no system-level validity checking. Some routines are inlined. No code is generated to get an execution trace in case of failure. No assertion is checked.

-no_check:
In this compilation mode, no Eiffel assertion is checked.
The test for the target's existence is performed. Some code is generated for the system-level validity checking, and to produce an execution trace (an execution stack is managed).
There is no inlining and no assertion check.

-require_check:
In this compilation mode, Eiffel preconditions are checked.
The generated code is similar to that produced by -no_check, but also includes code to test preconditions (require statements).

-ensure_check:
The generated code is similar to that produced by -require_check, but also includes code to test postconditions (ensure statements).

-invariant_check:
The generated code is similar to that produced by -ensure_check, but also includes code to test class invariants.

-loop_check:
The generated code is similar to that produced by -invariant_check, but also includes code to test loop variants and loop invariants.

-all_check:
The default mode. The generated code is similar to that produced by -loop_check, but also includes code for the check instruction.

-debug_check:
The generated code is similar to that produced by -all_check, but also includes code for debug instructions. All debugs are checked regardless of the optional string key.

2. Other options

-trace:
This option may be useful to debug your program or to realise some profiling.

This option adds some C code which will produce at run time the file "trace.se" (this file is not produced at compile time). When you run a traced program, you get a (usually huge) file "trace.se" in the launching directory which tells you where your program is going: which line, which column in which Eiffel source file. Because all classes are traced, "trace.se" is a huge file even for a small program.

GENERAL has a feature, trace_switch, which allows you to turn trace generation on or off dynamically. At run time, when the argument of trace_switch is true, trace printing is switched on (conversely, false is used to switch off trace printing). When option -trace is not selected, calls to trace_switch are ignored by compile_to_c (no C code is produced). The -trace option is not available with mode -boost. Using -trace at the same time as -boost has the same effect as using -trace with -no_check. Bear in mind also that very simple instructions (like, for example, "i := i + 1;") may not be traced.

-cc c_compiler:
Call c_compiler instead of the default C compiler. See the READ_ME file of directory sys to set the default C compiler as well as the default linker.

-no_gc:
No Garbage Collector.

When this option is selected, no GC is produced and (at least) one actual malloc is performed for each object creation. This option is useful when one prefers to use another GC provided by an external library (such as the Boehm-Demers-Weiser conservative GC), or when no GC is needed. If -no_gc is not used, SmallEiffel computes a customised GC for each system.

It is important to remember that some architecture-dependant code may be required for the proper operation of the GC (see file SmallEiffel/sys/gc for details).

-no_split:
Produce only one C file for the whole Eiffel system.

This may enable the C compiler to inline more functions calls. This option is useful only to finalise an application (the incremental C compiling mode is switched off with -no_split).

-no_strip:
Do not remove symbol information from the generated executable file.

This option is useful only when finalizing an application

-o output_name:
Name the executable file output_name.

This has the same meaning as the -o option of many C compilers.

-cecil cecil_file:
Allow some Eiffel features to be called from C (see the cecil file for details). To call C functions/macros from Eiffel see external.

-verbose:
Print system information during the compilation (full path of loaded files, type inference score, removed files, etc.).

-no_warning:
Suppress output for all warning messages (error messages are still printed).

-case_insensitive:
Switch case insensitive mode on.

For example, when this mode is selected, the Eiffel parser considers that the following identifiers are equivalent : item, ITEM, ItEm, ...

3. Options passed to the C compiler
Any remaining options, *.c files, *.o files, library -l* are passed to the C compiler/linker.

4. The SmallEiffel environment variable
The environment variable SmallEiffel is used to locate the SmallEiffel directory on the disks. In the Debian release, this defaults to /usr/lib/smalleiffel.

This variable also indicates which system is used. When the value of SmallEiffel contains a slash character ('/'), the compiler assumes it is a UNIX-like system.

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Original text copyright © Dominique COLNET and Suzanne COLLIN - <colnet@loria.fr>
Last update: Thursday April 9th, 1998
This version edited by Oliver Elphick



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