[fpc-devel] Delphi-like Packages, Plan

[Willibald Krenn]

Hi!

Here comes my 'official' plan on how I want to implement Delphi-like 
Package Support for FPC on Win64. Feel free to comment.



Definitions
~~~~~~~~~~~
         <File>.ppl      Free-Pascal Package Library
                           (shared module, Delphi: bpl)
         <File>.ppk      Free-Pascal Package
                           (source, Delphi: dpk)
         <File>.pcp      Free-Pascal Compiled Packge
                           (header, ppu's, Delphi: dcp)
         (skip package collections for now)

         -K <File>[ <File>]*
                         Command line arg to tell fpc to compile
                         program/dll with runtime package support.

-> M1
~~~~~
Goal:   - Compile System unit into a "fpcrtl.ppl"
         - Create a simple application that uses fpcrtl.ppl.
           -> Perhaps some simple string sorting program.

Idea: Create a TPackageModule class, might be some descendant of
       TPpuModule or TModule, that holds the information found in the
       ppk. Don't include the ppu files in the ppk (yet).

       Change pmodules.proc_package to load all units found in the
       packages of the requires section, create idata for the ppl,
       create pcp file.

       Add command line parameter (-K) so that applications can be
       compiled with packages. Change pmodules.proc_program to pre-load
       all units of all referenced packages.

-> M2
~~~~~
Goal:   - RTTI in ppk
         - Basic OOP support in ppk (ClassInfo etc.)
         - Include all ppu information in pcp file

To Consider:
       Add Name mangling for RTTI (etc.) if not yet existant.

       Find code in the rtl that needs to be changed (if any).

       Threads/Thread Local Storage?

       Tests.

-> M3
~~~~~
Goal:   - Implement missing functionality
           (Weakpackage, CompilerSwitches...)
         - Provide ppk files for class library
         - add tests
         - merge into trunk


Cheers,
  Willi