[Lazarus] How to use $(Save) macro

[Graeme Geldenhuys]

On 4 October 2010 00:26, Marcos Douglas <md at delfire.net> wrote:

> 2010/10/3 Frank Church <vfclists at gmail.com>:
> > [snip]
> > The wiki also has tips on compiling
> > at
> http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Installing_Lazarus#Compiling.2Finstalling_FPC_and_Lazarus_from_Sources_of_SVN_.28Win32.29
> >
> > It is the type of article I don't like because you can learn a lot more
> from
> > a  good well commented script with sensibly named variables (insert smug
> > emoticon here) ;).
>
> I did this wiki and it is working very well for win32.
>
>
I just want to say this, it is not directed at you as such, but it is a
fault I find in many howtos and guides.
A lot of howtos do not focus on structure, they operate on a very low level
of abstraction.

Howtos should be like functions or procedures. You state what the parameters
or variables to the function are. The reader takes a look at the parameters
to the function, and learns about the structure of that domain from the
parameter names and the comments attached to them.

A lot of the time those comments are not even necessary.

The better parts of Lazarus and FPC are in subversion, and as the revisions
constantly change it is important to label the builds properly and label the
directories and settings locations properly which is why I created that
script. It may appear to be overkill but I'd rather know where I am and what
I am using at all times.

Symlinks can be used to point the system's ie the one in /usr/lib,/usr/bin
etc. In this case you still know what builds are being used by examining the
symlinks. Building some of the revisions often fails which is why labelling
them is so important.

The reasons why Lazarus and FPC compilations fail, which is mostly due to
incorrect fpc.cfg, lazarus executable, fpc/ppc386 executables, /fpcsrc
directories, the settings etc are there reason why that script is the way it
is. I spent hours unravelling them, and anyone who familiar with those
issues will understand why I strove to get them right that way. I am also
developing for Ubuntu 8.04, which is not up to date like later versions.

I will probably comment it further to help newcomers understand its
structure, and I would like those more familiar with the Lazarus/FPC
compilation process to correct any errors or misunderstandings on my part.


With respect to Win32 the buildfaq document has a sample batch file at 2.4.4
which illustrates my point, but does not go far enough.

As an aside I think the noise level in howtos in the blogosphere and the
internet in general is simply too high, and attention get's caught in trivia
and boilerplate stuff.



> Marcos Douglas
>
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-- 
Frank Church

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