NAME
aegis build - build a change
SYNOPSIS
aegis -Build [ option... ][ filename... ]
aegis -Build -List [ option... ]
aegis -Build -Help
DESCRIPTION
The aegis -Build command is used to build a project. The project
configuration file is consulted for the appropriate build command, and
that command is executed (see the build_ command and integration_
build_command fields in aepconf(5) for more information.) Output of
the command is automatically logged to the aegis.log file at the root
of the development directory tree. The build command will be executed
with its current directory being the root of the development directory,
irrespective of there the aegis -Build command was executed.
If the change is in the being integrated state, references to the
development directory, above, should be read as the integration
directory. Integration build commands are executed with the user and
group set to the project’s owning user and group. That is, it is not
necessary for an integrator to log in as someone else, the project
account for instance, in order to do an integration.
No Build Required
It is possible to configure your project so that no build is required.
To do this, set the following
build_command = "exit 0";
in the project configuration file.
Process Side Effects
This command will cancel any test registrations, because building the
project logically invalidates them. If the project configuration file
was deleted, any diff registration will also be canceled.
Notification
The actions of the command are controlled by the build_ command and
integration_build_command fields of the project config file. See
aepconf(5) for more information.
File Action Adjustment
When this command runs, it first checks the change files against the
projects files. If there are inconsistencies, the file actions will be
adjusted as follows:
create If a file is being created, but another change set is
integrated which also creates the file, the file action in the
change set still being developed will be adjusted to "modify".
modify If a file is being modified, but another change set is
integrated which removes the file, the file action in the
change set still being developed will be adjusted to "create".
remove If a file is being removed, but another change set is
integrated which removes the file, the file will be dropped
from the change set still being developed.
PARTIAL BUILD
If files are named on the command line, these files are appended to the
build command. This is known as a partial build. Partial builds are
not legal in the being integrated state, but can often be useful in the
being developed state. Partial builds are not recorded in the change
status, because builds are decoupled from aegis it is not possible for
aegis to know if any set of partial builds is equivalent to a full
build.
Warning: no change state lock is taken for a partial build, only a
baseline read lock.
File Name Interpretation
The aegis program will attempt to determine the project file names from
the file names given on the command line. All file names are stored
within aegis projects as relative to the root of the baseline directory
tree. The development directory and the integration directory are
shadows of this baseline directory, and so these relative names apply
here, too. Files named on the command line are first converted to
absolute paths if necessary. They are then compared with the baseline
path, the development directory path, and the integration directory
path, to determine a baseline-relative name. It is an error if the
file named is outside one of these directory trees.
The -BAse_RElative option may be used to cause relative filenames to be
interpreted as relative to the baseline path; absolute filenames will
still be compared with the various paths in order to determine a
baseline-relative name.
The relative_filename_preference in the user configuration file may be
used to modify this default behavior. See aeuconf(5) for more
information.
SYMBOLIC LINKS
Many dependency maintenance tools, and indeed some compilers, have
little or no support for include file search paths, and thus for the
concept of the two-level directory hierarchy employed by Aegis. (It
becomes multi-level when Aegis’ branching functionality is used.) To
allow these tools to be used, Aegis provides the ability to maintain a
set of symbolic links between the development directory of a change and
the baseline of a project, so it appears to these tools that all of the
project’s files are present in the development directory.
Project Configuration
The development_directory_style field of the project configuration file
controls the appearance of the development directory. See aepconf(5)
for more information.
By using a setting such as
development_directory_style =
{
source_file_symlink = true;
during_build_only = true;
};
the user never sees the symbolic links, because they are added purely
for the benefit of the dependency maintenance tool during the execution
of the aeb(1) command.
By using a setting such as
development_directory_style =
{
source_file_symlink = true;
};
(the other will default to false) the symbolic links will be created at
develop begin time (see aedb(1) for more information) and also
maintained by each aeb(1) invocation. Note that the symbolic links are
only maintained at these times, so project integrations during the
course of editing change sourec files may leave the symbolic links in
an inconsistent state until the next build.
When files are copied from the baseline into a change, using the
aecp(1) command, the symbolic link pointing into the baseline, if any,
will be removed before the file is copied.
Note: Using this functionality in either form has implications for how
the rules file of the dependency maintenance tool is written. Rules
must remove their targets before creating them (usually with an rm -f
command) if you use any of the link sub-fields (both hard links and
symbolic links). This is to avoid attempting to write the result on
the symbolic link, which will point at a read-only file in the project
baseline. This is similar to the same requirement for using the link_
integration_directory field of the project configuration file.
User Configuration
There is a symbolic_link_preference field in the user configuration
file (see aeuconf(5) for more information). This controls whether
aeb(1) will verify the symbolic links before the build (default) or
whether it will assume they are up-to-date. (This field is only
relevant if development_directory__style.source_file_symlink is true.)
For medium-to-large projects, verifying the symbolic links can take as
long as the build itself. Assuming the symbolic links are up-to-date
can be a large time-saving for these projects. It may be advisable to
review your choice of DMT in such a situation.
The aedb(1) command does not consult this preference. Thus, in most
situations, the symbolic links will be up-to-date when the build is
performed. The only Aegis function which may result in the symbolic
links becoming out-of-date is the integration of another change, as
this may alter the presence or absence of files in the baseline. In
this situation, the default aeb(1) action is to ignore the user
preference and the verify symbolic links.
There are two command line options which modify aeb(1) behavior
further: the -Verify-Symbolic-Links option says to verify the symbolic
links; and the -Assume-Symbolic-Links option says to assume the
symbolic links are up-to-date. In each case the option over-rides the
default and the user preference.
It is possible to obtain behaviour similar to Tom Lord’a Arch by using
a setting such as:
development_directory_style =
{
source_file_link = true;
source_file_symlink = true;
};
It is possible to obtain behaviour similar to CVS by using a setting
such as:
development_directory_style =
{
source_file_copy = true;
};
There are many more possible configurations of the development_
directory_style, usually with helpful build side-effects. See
aepconf(1) and the Depenedency Maintenance Tool chapter of the User
Guide for more information.
The symbolic link command line options and preferences apply equally to
hard links and file copies (the names have historical origins).
THE BASELINE LOCK
The baseline lock is used to ensure that the baseline remains in a
consistent state for the duration of commands which need to read the
contents of files in the baseline.
The commands which require the baseline to be consistent (these include
the aeb(1), aecp(1) and aed(1) commands) take a baseline read lock.
This is a non-exclusive lock, so the concurrent development of changes
is not hindered.
The command which modifies the baseline, aeipass(1), takes a baseline
write lock. This is an exclusive lock, forcing aeipass(1) to block
until there are no active baseline read locks.
It is possible that one of the above development commands will block
until an in-progress aegis -Integrate_PASS completes. This is usually
of short duration while the project history is updated. The delay is
essential so that these commands receive a consistent view of the
baseline. No other integration command will cause the above
development commands to block.
When aegis’ branch functionality is in use, a read (non-exclusive) lock
is taken on the branch baseline and also each of the "parent"
baselines. However, a baseline write (exclusive) lock is only taken on
the branch baseline; the "parent" baselines are only read (non-
exclusive) locked.
METRICS
Aegis is capable of recording metrics as part of the file attributes of
a change. This allows various properties of files to be recorded for
later trend analysis, or other uses.
The specific metrics are not dictated by Aegis. It is expected that
the integration build will create a metrics file for each of the source
files the change. These metrics files must be in the format specified
by aemetrics(5).
The name of the metrics file defaults to “filename,S”, however it may
be varied, by setting the metrics_filename_pattern field of the project
config file. See aepconf(5) for more information.
If such a metrics file exists, for each source file in a change, it
will be read and remembered at integrate pass time. If it does not
exist, Aegis assumes there are no relevant metrics for that file, and
proceeds silently; it is not an error.
OPTIONS
The following options are understood:
name=value
Command line arguments of this form are assumed to be variable
assignments for the build tool. They are passed through
unchanged. They imply a partial build.
-BAse_RElative
This option may be used to cause relative filenames to be
considered relative to the base of the source tree. See
aeuconf(5) for the corresponding user preference.
-CUrrent_RElative
This option may be used to cause relative filenames to be
considered relative to the current directory. This is usually
the default. See aeuconf(5) for the corresponding user
preference.
-Change number
This option may be used to specify a particular change within a
project. See aegis(1) for a complete description of this
option.
-Help
This option may be used to obtain more information about how to
use the aegis program.
-List
This option may be used to obtain a list of suitable subjects
for this command. The list may be more general than expected.
-MINImum
This option may be used to request a source-only development_
directory_style. This is useful if you want to simulate
something like aeib -minimum in the development directory.
This option is only meaningful if development_directory_style
is being used. If the change is in the being integrated state,
and the developer specified -MINImum when issuing the aegis
-Integrate_Begin command, then this option is set by default.
-Not_Logging
This option may be used to disable the automatic logging of
output and errors to a file. This is often useful when several
aegis commands are combined in a shell script.
-Project name
This option may be used to select the project of interest.
When no -Project option is specified, the AEGIS_PROJECT
environment variable is consulted. If that does not exist, the
user’s $HOME/.aegisrc file is examined for a default project
field (see aeuconf(5) for more information). If that does not
exist, when the user is only working on changes within a single
project, the project name defaults to that project. Otherwise,
it is an error.
-TERse
This option may be used to cause listings to produce the bare
minimum of information. It is usually useful for shell
scripts.
-Verbose
This option may be used to cause aegis to produce more output.
By default aegis only produces output on errors. When used
with the -List option this option causes column headings to be
added.
-Verify_Symbolic_Links
This option may be used to request that the symbolic links, or
hard links, or file copies, in the work area be updated to
reflect the current state of the baseline. This is controlled
by the development_directory_style field of the project
configuration file. Only files which are not involved in the
change are updated. See also the “symbolic_links_preference”
field of aeuconf(5). This option is the default, if meaningful
for your configuration. The name is an historical accident,
hard links and file copies are included.
-Assume_Symbolic_Links
This option may be used to request that no update of baseline
mirror files take place. This options is useful when you
definitely know the files’ up-to-date-ness isn’t important
right now; incorrect use of this option may have unanticipated
build side-effects. See also the “symbolic_links_preference”
field of aeuconf(5). This option is the default, if not
meaningful for your configuration. The name is an historical
accident, hard links and file copies are included.
-Wait This option may be used to require Aegis commands to wait for
access locks, if they cannot be obtained immediately. Defaults
to the user’s lock_wait_preference if not specified, see
aeuconf(5) for more information.
-No_Wait
This option may be used to require Aegis commands to emit a
fatal error if access locks cannot be obtained immediately.
Defaults to the user’s lock_wait_preference if not specified,
see aeuconf(5) for more information.
See also aegis(1) for options common to all aegis commands.
All options may be abbreviated; the abbreviation is documented as the
upper case letters, all lower case letters and underscores (_) are
optional. You must use consecutive sequences of optional letters.
All options are case insensitive, you may type them in upper case or
lower case or a combination of both, case is not important.
For example: the arguments "-project, "-PROJ" and "-p" are all
interpreted to mean the -Project option. The argument "-prj" will not
be understood, because consecutive optional characters were not
supplied.
Options and other command line arguments may be mixed arbitrarily on
the command line, after the function selectors.
The GNU long option names are understood. Since all option names for
aegis are long, this means ignoring the extra leading ’-’. The
"--option=value" convention is also understood.
RECOMMENDED ALIAS
The recommended alias for this command is
csh% alias aeb ’aegis -b \!* -v’
sh$ aeb(){aegis -b "$@" -v}
ERRORS
It is an error if the change is not assigned to the current user.
It is an error if the change is not in one of the being developed or
being integrated states.
It is an error if a partial build is requested and the change is in the
being integrated state.
EXIT STATUS
The aegis command will exit with a status of 1 on any error. The aegis
command will only exit with a status of 0 if there are no errors.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See aegis(1) for a list of environment variables which may affect this
command. See aepconf(5) for the project configuration file’s project_
specific field for how to set environment variables for all commands
executed by Aegis.
SEE ALSO
aedb(1) begin development of a change
aecp(1) file copy also takes a baseline read lock (non-exclusive)
aeib(1) begin integration of a change
aeipass(1)
integrate pass takes a baseline write lock (exclusive)
aet(1) run tests
aemetrics(5)
metrics values file format
aepconf(5)
project configuration file format
aeuconf(5)
user configuration file format
COPYRIGHT
aegis version 4.24.3.D001
Copyright (C) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Peter
Miller
The aegis program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details use
the ’aegis -VERSion License’ command. This is free software and you
are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; for details
use the ’aegis -VERSion License’ command.
AUTHOR
Peter Miller E-Mail: millerp@canb.auug.org.au
/\/\* WWW: http://www.canb.auug.org.au/~millerp/