Post-processing without (re)compilation

Note: this article is part of explaining compilation outside of IDE.

Important Note: usually, you call ecc32.exe/emake.exe from [EurekaLog installation folder]\Packages\[IDE name]\ folder or from \bin folder of your IDE. That way ecc32.exe/emake.exe will know which IDE you are using. However, if you are calling ecc32.exe/emake.exe from \bin folder of EurekaLog, or if you copy ecc32.exe/emake.exe to another folder - then it will NOT know which IDE you are using. You have to supply --el_ide command line switch to indicate what IDE should be used.

This can be useful in situations where 3rd party build tools are not able to directly run ecc32.exe/emake.exe (or you just don't want to build "scary" command-line). So, you're using "someone" to build your project as usual - this can be IDE, build server/tool (like FinalBuilder). Just don't forget to set mandatory options for your project.

Now you need to post-process your already compiled project without recompiling it. To achieve this we just need to use another EurekaLog command line parameter: --el_alter_exe.

Here is how the command line would look given that our application has already been compiled and we just want to add EurekaLog's features:

Note: EurekaLog is able to recognize both project files (such as .dpr) and project configuration files (such as .dproj). It's recommended to specify project configuration files (such as .dproj) when possible.

If you want to specify the complied application's file name use:

You may also need to specify absolute or relative paths to files in some cases.

Important Note: post-processing will inject information into already compiled executable. It can not recompile or change the project. If you are switching between EurekaLog settings - your .dpr source file may need to be changed (e.g. to change included EurekaLog units in uses clause). To achieve this we just need to use another EurekaLog command line parameter: --el_prepare.

A typical batch file to build your project with EurekaLog may look like this:

--el_config switch is optional.

Note: EurekaLog shows command-line to post-processing your project for your convenience at General tab in EurekaLog project options:

Ready to use command-line in EurekaLog project options

This edit is read-only. Just select all text, copy it into Windows clipboard and insert in place where you want to invoke EurekaLog's post-processing.

You can also use ecc32 to post-process executables compiled by non-Embarcadero compilers (such as Microsoft Visual Studio). You can use NUL as project file name and supply --el_config argument to specify location of EurekaLog options (.eof file). You can create .eof file by exporting EurekaLog options from any project or you can use standalone Settings Editor tool. You would need to add --el_source argument to indicate location of debug information (which is stored in PDB for Visual Studio).

See also: