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Dirs File (Compact 2013)

3/26/2014

A dirs file is a text file that you use to specify to Build.exe which subdirectories contain source code you want to build into a run-time image for Windows Embedded Compact.

  • DIRS=directory
    Specifies a set of directories in which Build.exe looks for dirs and sources files. Build.exe processes the directory entries in the order listed.

    Use spaces and tabs to separate entries in the directory list.

    You can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard character in the DIRS option to build all subdirectories in a directory.

  • DIRS_CE=directory
    [Optional] Specifies a set of directories in which Build.exe looks for dirs and sources files that were written for a Windows Embedded Compact-based run-time image.
  • OPTIONAL_DIRS=directory
    [Optional] Specifies a set of directories in which Build.exe looks for dirs and sources files.

Remarks

Build.exe builds source code in the directory in which it is run and in any subdirectories named in the dirs file. By running Build.exe in a selected subdirectory, you can selectively update parts of your run-time image without rebuilding all of it.

For example, if you make changes in the source code in the Proj2directory, and then change to Proj2 and enter build on the command line of the Proj2 directory, Build.exe rebuilds only the code in the Proj2 directory.

To build the source code in an optional directory, specify the directory in the BUILD_OPTIONS environment variable or include the directory as an argument to Build.exe.

If you use either the -M switch or the BUILD_MULTIPROCESSOR environment setting to specify that Build.exe uses multiple processes to compile, and your sources files have dependencies, you might need to use the <BuildPassName>_PRODUCES and <BuildPassName>_CONSUMES macros to ensure that your directories are built in the proper order.

For more information, see <BuildPassName>_PRODUCES and <BuildPassName>_CONSUMES.

Note

The SYNCHRONIZE_BLOCK and SYNCHRONIZE_DRAIN macros are deprecated in Windows Embedded Compact 2013. If you use these macros, your build process might fail. As of Windows Embedded Compact 2013, Build.exe does not require any additional metadata to synchronize multi-threaded builds of static libraries consuming static libraries and managed assemblies consuming managed assemblies. This change eliminates the need for synchronization macros in most cases.

See Also

Reference

Build Tool (Build.exe)