How to recreate "default" .res file from command line? - delphi

When the "default" .res file of your project is missing Delphi will offer to recreate it when you open the project in the IDE. Can this functionality be invoked from command line?
Background:
A project is under version control, its .res file is not checked in (some musings about why can be found here). The project is checked out automatically and build from command line. The problem now is the missing .res file which causes the build to fail. Can I somehow invoke the auto-creation feature the IDE uses from command line? Otherwise it seems like I am forced to check in the .res file.

No, there is no command-line tool in Delphi to re-create the default resource file.
That's just as well since you don't need the default resource file. It would contain a generic version number and a generic icon, which you obviously don't want in any project important enough for automated builds.
Binary resource files don't do well in source control, which is what prompted the other question. Write .rc files instead, and compile them as part of your build. Delphi won't auto-increment build numbers anymore, but it's easy enough to reproduce that in your build script as well by updating your .rc file (or generating an included file) prior to compilation.
If you really want a binary resource file, then you could store one in source control, but under a different name or location than what the compiler expects to find. After checkout but before the build, copy it into the proper location. Changes to the copy won't be recorded in source control.

Related

Where can I configure DCC_ExeOutput?

Is it possible to configure DCC_ExeOutput from Delphi? I could only change this by editing the dproj file.
I couldn't find where to edit this option even using Delphi IDE Insight.
Update 1:
This is my Project Options:
#TOndrej have suggested me change output directory, but I have already done this, and DCC_ExecOutput didn't change. The only way was editing dproj file.
Update 2:
My purpose is organize the folder structure of Delphi projects like suggested by Zarco Gajic in his article How to Layout Delphi Project Files - Best Practice.
Delphi creates folders for each platform to store .dcu, .exe and other files. .\$(Platform)\$(Config) is the default for Delphi. So in the same level of .dproj Delphi creates the folders Win32, Win64, Android, etc.
As you can see in the picture above, I've configured Delphi to put those files in a better organized form, in my opinion. Below an example:
My_Delphi_Project_folder
Bin
|___Debug
| |____Win32
| |____Win64
| |____Android
|___Release
|____Win32
|____Win64
|____Android
But after compile, the resulted structure was like below:
My_Delphi_Project_folder
Win32
Win64
Android
Bin
|___Debug
| |____Win32
| |____Win64
| |____Android
|___Release
|____Win32
|____Win64
|____Android
After investigating .dproj file I found the guilty. It was DCC_ExeOutput.
As I didn't find a way to configures it in Delphi, I asked for help here.
It has a long time that I don't work with Delphi, and I thought that could be a very simple thing that I have passed up. That's the cause of lack of information in my question.
See "Output Directory" in Project Options.
The important information here is the type of project. Your project is a package. As such the DCC_ExeOutput setting is not relevant. It has no impact on the build process. What matters for a package is the DCC_BplOutput setting. The IDE still appears to emit to the .dproj file a value for the DCC_ExeOutput setting, but this value is ignored, and can be removed from the .dproj file.
Package projects
Main source file begins with package.
The output location for the package is determined by the DCC_BplOutput node in the .dproj file.
In the IDE this setting corresponds to the Package output directory option in the project options dialog.
The IDE's new package dialog produces a .dproj file that contains a DCC_ExeOutput node. This node is ignored and can safely be removed from the .dproj file. There is no option in the IDE that corresponds to the DCC_ExeOutput node in a package .dproj file.
Executable and library projects
Main source file begins with program or library.
The output location for the project is determined by the DCC_ExeOutput node in the .dproj file.
In the IDE this setting corresponds to the Output directory option in the project options dialog.

Does the .res file need to be in source control?

In C++Builder XE5.
My understanding is that the binary file MyProject.res (which is created by the compiler in the same directory as the .cbproj file) contains compiled versions of the program icon and the project version details (although mine also seems to contain an XML manifest).
But this info is also contained in the .cbproj file and the .ico files; and if I delete the .res file then it seems to get recreated exactly was it was next time I open the project.
So is it safe to mark *.res as not being in source control? (I use git). And/Or is it possible to have it generated in the same directory as the object files instead, so it's not mixed in with the source?
(This certainly wasn't safe in C++Builder 5 - if you deleted the .res file then it complained it couldn't find it, and you lost your icons).
Update: Does this also apply to the .tlb file? This seems to be compiled based on the .ridl file, and if I delete it then it is automatically regenerated.
C++ Builder 6.0 and later will recreate RES files if deleted. I treat them as other temporary/build files (like OBJ files) and do not put them in version control software. I do have nightly backups that include all of these files though, which I think is still good practice.
I am not sure about TLB files. I would temporarily delete (aka-rename) one and see if it gets recreated to the same state. If so, should be same as RES files.
This does not hold true for 3rd party libraries though, if all you have is compiled resources. In that case, I still do not place in my version control though, since I am not going to be modifying them. I just have my backups.
For what it's worth, the TFS source control defaults are to exclude *.res but include *.tlb.
So you should expect *.res files to be created by their associated builds. If the build isn't going to be present, then the *.res file should be included.
I suspect that you're right about *.tlb files being built as well, but perhaps TFS doesn't exclude these on default because the extension isn't entirely unique to OLE type library files alone.

What Is a .vrc file, how is is generated and can you remove it using the IDE?

I am trying to install a commercial component called JamShellBrowser but it will not install.
I have contacted the developer, but meanwhile I'd like to know:
What is a vrc file?
How is it produced?
Can it be controlled or modified with the Delphi XE4 IDE?
I checked the IDE's help but I could not find anything about vrc files and I searched for Delphi vrc and did not find anything that would help me.
The error message is:
Checking project dependencies...
Compiling JamShellDelphiXE4.dproj (Release, Win32)
brcc32 command line for "JamShellDelphiXE4.vrc"
c:\program files (x86)\embarcadero\rad studio\11.0\bin\cgrc.exe -c65001 JamShellDelphiXE4.vrc -foJamShellDelphiXE4.res
[BRCC32 Error] JamShellDelphiXE4.vrc(2): file not found: JamShellDelphiXE2_Icon.ico
Failed
Elapsed time: 00:00:00.1
I searched the components folders for an ico file, but there is none... thus the message, but even if I remove the line MAINICON ICON "JamShellDelphiXE2_Icon.ico" from the vrc file or even delete the vrc file it is automatically generated when I try to install.
I moved from Delphi 2010 to XE4 a few months ago and noticed the apparently new vrc file but I do not know what it is or how to handle these files.
A .vrc is a temporary file created by Delphi MSBuild process to compile resources files (.res) which will be linked in the final binary output. It is passed to CodeGear Resource Compiler/Binder (cgrc.exe) and deleted after the build process.
It doesn't appear anywhere in .dproj file. This behaviour is from BuildVersionResource target, imported from $(BDS)\Bin\CodeGear.Common.Targets. Look at this file (and at CodeGear.Delphi.Targets) if you want to get a better understanding of build process.
Removing <Icon_MainIcon> tag from .dproj it's not enough, as VERSIONINFO resources can also force the creation of .vrc file (I believe "vrc" stands for "Version Resource", although it is also used for main icon in applications).
In case of packages, Delphi always put version info in packages projects. The "include version information" IDE option is ignored with package projects.
So, if you (like me)
don't rely on Delphi IDE to set application main icon
don't rely on Delphi IDE to set version info resources; and
do manage to include your own resources files for everything
you can disable its creation entirely by setting the SkipResGeneration to true in your msbuild call. E.g.:
msbuild.exe myProject /t:Build /p:Config=Release /p:SkipResGeneration=true
However, this only works for MSBuild-based builds. I don't know how to do the same for builds from Delphi IDE.
Just open your #PROJECT#.dproj in any text editor file and find lines
<Icon_MainIcon>#PROJECT#_Icon.ico</Icon_MainIcon>
and delete them.
You will find one per Build target.
Save the file and you are done.
Edit: The original answer referred to the .dpr file, however note the section to edit is in the .dproj hence I've updated the the answer above to reflect this.
I believe this is a built in IDE behaviour of Delphi XE4 and XE5, possibly caused by an upgrade bug. Generation of VRC files is something that you can not disable except by removing the tags in the dproj file that cause it to be generated.
If there was a way to fix it or remove it, it might involve comparing your dproj file with another dproj file and looking for something that was appropriate only to a .dpr+.dproj Project that somehow got into your .dpk+.dproj project, like <Icon_MainIcon>.
It appears to be an intermediate file that is auto-generated when a .dpr+.dproj project has some version information which must be written out of the .dproj file, and into a temporary location and then compiled and linked into your application as a version info resource. However, I have also seen it get generated for a .dpk+.dproj project, and this mystifies me as well.
It also seems to contain a resource for your default application icon and version information, and packages do not normally have a versioninfo or application icon resource.
What I find to be possibly a BUG is that there is no UI in the Delphi IDE to let you set the Application Icon of a Package. Yet, I sometimes get a .VRC and an .ICO file. But I am not aware of a fix, other than to report the issue to Embarcadero Quality Central.
With a .dproj project, a .VRC intermediate file makes at least some sense. I see the following content: Version Info, Application Icon, and VCL Styles (ie AquaLightSlate.vsf) resource linkage.
this is a clarification...
I've just started to install several component libraries into Delphi RAD Studio XE5 that I've got installed in XE2 and XE4. When I try to Build most of them, I get this same error.
The problem isn't so much the .vrc file itself, it's this particular error:
[BRCC32 Error] <project_name>.vrc(2): file not found: <project_name>_Icon.ico
I can't figure out a way to bypass it, and I have no idea what it's looking for or where.
I tend to copy my component libs from one version to the next, opening them, building them, and installing them (ie. the ones that don't come with installers). I've never seen this happen in prior versions. However, this is the first time I've had RAD Studio installed; in the past I've just had Delphi. So perhaps it has something to do with having C++ installed as well?
I had to change my X.optset file to get this to work.
X being the name of your Delphi version you brought over these options from. Mine was PolyDelphiXE2.optset.
Once I corrected the name here no more funny compiling that brought in a different ico reference.

Compiling projects with DCC32 as in Delphi 6 professional IDE

IDE: Delphi 6 Professional.
We have big projects.
I cannot use Project Groups to build them all, because I got OM errors, and strange file errors when I did it.
My idea was that I will use DCC32.exe
Priorly I had a fight with the command line parameters (dcc32.cfg), but it I thought I solved it...
Today I tried to compile projects with it, but at first project I got errors.
chdir c:\d\anyproject
dcc32 -b any.dpr
The error reported me that it wasn't found a unit. I tried to compile in Delphi, and it was successful.
So I checked the problem. Why the previous project buildings were successful, and why this wasn't...?
Then I realized that this dpr is using references to a subdirectory, but not all files added to the project, more of them are linked by project's "search path".
But if it's true, then this meaning that DCC32 ISN'T USING THE PROJECT'S DOF/CFG FILES!
So the problem is that Delphi merges everything to provide the result.
It merges the global search paths, the project's compiler directives, the searching paths, so everything, and using the project's conditional directives too.
If I understand it well, the DCC32 don't use, only the dcc32.cfg, and I must merge everything for the compilation, what is an impossible job, because I need to write a parser what is interprets the project's parameters, and merges with globals.
Or I misunderstand something, and the problem is caused by other thing what I missed?
I waiting for your suggestions!
Thanks for all idea, link, info, etc.
dcc32 options from the following places:
A dcc32.cfg file. This can be either in the current directory, or the same directory as dcc32.exe.
The command line.
The source code.
I have order these in order of increasing precedence. So, an option specified in source code always overrides settings made a dcc32.cfg file, or on the command line.
dcc32.exe will choose whichever dcc32.cfg file it finds first. It looks in the current directory first.
What all this means is that you are responsible for getting the settings from the .dof file, and from the IDE into your command line compilation environment.
This is one of the many reasons why you should upgrade. Modern Delphi versions use msbuild for command line compilation and make it trivially easy to be sure that your command line builds are the same as IDE builds.
When you watch an msbuild in progress you will see that it results in a call to dcc32.exe with all options specified on the command line. Transforming the project settings into a call to dcc32.exe is what you are now faced with. In Delphi 6 you have to do that yourself. In modern Delphi, the tools are part of the product.
This might help:
http://delphi.wikia.com/wiki/Compile_from_Commandline
It describes how to do commanline compiles with Delphi versions from Delphi 1 to XE3 and also links to the tool dof2cfg which you might find helpful.
IIRC the command line compiler always uses a configuration file named dcc32.cfg found either in the current folder or where dcc32.exe resides. You may try to rename or copy your .cfg file to dcc32.cfg and see if that solves your problem.

Automated Build scripts

How can I increment version in project files for delphi projects.I am using Delphi 10 for win32 application development. I consists of bdsproj, dpr & res files for a project.
If you are using delphi to build your application, you can turn on auto-incrementation of buildnumber under projectsettings.
We use a self made utility to generate a version resource (rc-file) based on values in a ini-file. Then we compile the rc-file into a res-file, that we include in the project.
We use finalbuilder-scripts to automate the process. I know finalbuilder has its own support for versionnumbers, but we don't use it. I don't know why, though...
I previously used a program called StampVer, You will need to already have version information in the file to use StampVer. StampVer is Freeware but not Open Source.
The nice thing about stampver, is that it can auto-increment for you.
I use a proper build script tool FinalBuilder which has a set of property management commands which can set all items in a build to the same version. This gives me consistency of numbering across a build, and a whole load more too. If you don't have a proper build tool, and are still using batch files or equivalent, now is a good time to go look at the options. Well worth doing.
I use a program that manages the version number in a .ini file and generates a .res file in the pre-build event of the project. This .res file contains only the version, not the icon. The icon is contained in a separate .res file. Both are being included in the project's dpr file:
{$R *_version.res}
{$R *_icon.res}
Only the *__i_con.res file gets checked into source conntrol, the version, as said above is maintained in an .ini file, so the *_version.res file can be generated whenever necessary. This gets rid of the annoyance of the .res and .dproj file constantly changing due to incrementing the build number.
Oh, I just realized that you said "Delphi 10", which I think is Delphi 2006. That Delphi version did not have pre- and post-build events, so you would have to call the program for maintaining the version yourself.
Read this article http://www.thedelphigeek.com/2008/01/tdm-rerun-2-better-build-process.html
by Primoz Gabrijelcic, originally published in The Delphi Magazine. It contains a complete description on what you need to do.
If you are looking for a non-gui way of doing this then I think if you look in the bdsproj file you will find a section in the xml where the version is written you can change it here. The next time it builds it will use this version.
DDevExtensions has a build incrementer in it, I'm not sure how to get the delphi 2006 version, but I think it exists and it's pretty handy stuff.
Do you need to increment the build number when you compile from the IDE, or outside? The IDE can increment it automatically, just check the flag in the project settings.
Incrementing that number outside the IDE is not simple because it is stored in the default .res file which is managed and regenerated by the IDE.
The command line compiler will not modify it. There are several ways to modify it (as other answer explain), and usually it works best with a build system that can generate the build numbers, especially if more than one developers work on the project.
I posted QC #70564 issue to ask that version info can be set by the command line compiler.

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