[fpc-pascal]The state of FPC - wrap up

[Florian Klaempfl]

Michael Van Canneyt wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I think the point about users finding include files cumbersome to use,
> and developers who require maintainability, has been made clear.
> 
> We can discuss about this for ages, and never agree. So I would like to
> conclude the discussion with a proposal.
> 
> My proposal is as follows:
> 
> If someone contributes a tool which does the necessary preprocessing
> i.e. including needed files, then I will set up a system where the
> source files are 'assembled' into single-source units for a given
> platform/cpu combination. These single-source units can be distributed
> with each platform or separately downloaded.
> 
> This tool can be run on a daily basis on our CVS server, and zips can be
> made available as a service to the FPC users.
> 
> As for the tool, I ask only 3 things:
> 1. It should compile with FPC and should be cross-platform.
> 2. Should obey {$ifdefs}/{$define} and the like, such as
>    run-time platform selection.
>    (linux based tool must generate sources for e.g. win32)
> 3. As for the rest, it would be good to have the command-line options
>    which match the compiler's:
>    -d define symbol
>    -u undefine symbol
>    -I/-Fi set include path
>    -T select target os/cpu
>    -FE set output name.
> 
> If someone makes this tool, I will do the rest.
> 
> Hopefully, this proposal helps to end an otherwise lengthy discussion.

Hmmm, this could be easily done by the compiler but I see no real use 
for it. I think it would be much more useful, if fpdoc could be extended 
to include the file name and line number into the docs ...