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Last update Tue Jun 6 16:38:20 2006

Compiler for D Programming Language

Files Common to Win32 and Linux

\dmd\src\phobos\
D runtime library source
\dmd\src\dmd\
D compiler front end source under dual (GPL and Artistic) license
\dmd\html\d\
Documentation
\dmd\samples\d\
Sample D programs

Win32 D Compiler

Files

\dmd\bin\dmd.exe
D compiler executable
\dmd\bin\shell.exe
Simple command line shell
\dmd\bin\sc.ini
Global compiler settings
\dmd\lib\phobos.lib
D runtime library

Requirements

Installation

Open a console window (for Windows XP this is done by clicking on [Start][Command Prompt]). All the tools are command line tools, which means they are run from a console window. Switch to the root directory. Unzip the files in the root directory. dmd.zip will create a \dmd directory with all the files in it. dmc.zip will create a \dm directory with all the files in it.

A typical session might look like:

C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name>cd \ 
C:\>unzip dmd.zip
C:\>unzip dmc.zip

Example

Run:
\dmd\bin\shell all.sh
in the \dmd\samples\d directory for several small examples.

Compiler Arguments and Switches

dmd files... -switch...

files...
Extension File Type
none D source files
.d D source files
.di D interface files
.obj Object files to link in
.lib Object code libraries to search
.exe Name output executable file
.def module definition file
.res resource file
-c
compile only, do not link
-cov
instrument for code coverage analysis
-D
Generate documentation from source.
-Dddocdir
write documentation file to docdir directory
-Dffilename
write documentation file to filename
-d
allow deprecated features
-debug
compile in debug code
-debug=level
compile in debug code <= level
-debug=ident
compile in debug code identified by ident
-g
add symbolic debug info
-H
generate D interface file
-Hddir
write D interface file to dir directory
-Hffilename
write D interface file to filename
--help
print help
-inline
inline expand functions
-Ipath
where to look for imports. path is a ; separated list of paths. Multiple -I's can be used, and the paths are searched in the same order.
-Llinkerflag
pass linkerflag to the linker, for example, /ma/li
-nofloat
Prevents emission of __fltused reference in object files, even if floating point code is present. Useful for library code. Windows only.
-O
Optimize generated code.
-o-
Suppress generation of object file. Useful in conjuction with -D or -H flags.
-odobjdir
write object files relative to directory objdir instead of to the current directory
-offilename
set output file name to filename in the output directory
-op
normally the path for .d source files is stripped off when generating an object file name. -op will leave it on.
-profile
profile the runtime performance of the generated code
-quiet
suppress non-essential compiler messages
-release
compile release version, which means not generating code for contracts and asserts
-run srcfile args...
compile, link, and run the program srcfile with the rest of the command line, args..., as the arguments to the program. No .obj or .exe file is left behind.
-unittest
compile in unittest code, also turns on asserts
-v
verbose
-version=level
compile in version code >= level
-version=ident
compile in version code identified by ident
-w
enable warnings

Linking

Linking is done directly by the dmd compiler after a successful compile. To prevent dmd from running the linker, use the -c switch.

The programs must be linked with the D runtime library phobos.lib, followed by the C runtime library snn.lib. This is done automatically as long as the directories for the libraries are on the LIB environment variable path. A typical way to set LIB would be:

set LIB=\dmd\lib;\dm\lib

Environment Variables

The D compiler dmd uses the following environment variables:
DFLAGS
The value of DFLAGS is treated as if it were appended to the command line to dmd.exe.
LIB
The linker uses LIB to search for library files. For D, it will normally be set to:
set LIB=\dmd\lib;\dm\lib
LINKCMD
dmd normally runs the linker by looking for link.exe along the PATH. To use a specific linker instead, set the LINKCMD environment variable to it. For example:
set LINKCMD=\dm\bin\link
PATH
If the linker is not found in the same directory as dmd.exe is in, the PATH is searched for it. Note: other linkers named link.exe will likely not work. Make sure the Digital Mars link.exe is found first in the PATH before other link.exe's, or use LINKCMD to specifically identify which linker to use.

sc.ini Initialization File

dmd will look for the initialization file sc.ini in the following sequence of directories:
  1. current working directory
  2. directory specified by the HOME environment variable
  3. directory dmd.exe resides in
If found, environment variable settings in the file will override any existing settings. This is handy to make dmd independent of programs with conflicting use of environment variables.

Environment variables follow the [Environment] section heading, in name=value pairs. Comments are lines that start with ;. For example:

; sc.ini file for dmd
; Names enclosed by %% are searched for in the existing environment
; and inserted. The special name %@P% is replaced with the path
; to this file.
[Environment]
LIB="%@P%\..\lib";\dm\lib
DFLAGS="-I%@P%\..\src\phobos"
LINKCMD="%@P%\..\..\dm\bin"
DDOCFILE=mysettings.ddoc

Common Installation Problems


Linux D Compiler

Files

/dmd/bin/dmd
D compiler executable
/dmd/bin/dumpobj
Elf file dumper
/dmd/bin/obj2asm
Elf file disassembler
/dmd/bin/dmd.conf
Global compiler settings (copy to /etc/dmd.conf)
/dmd/lib/libphobos.a
D runtime library (copy to /usr/lib/libphobos.a)

Requirements

Installation

  1. Unzip the archive into your home directory. It will create a ~/dmd directory with all the files in it. All the tools are command line tools, which means they are run from a console window.
  2. Edit the file ~/dmd/bin/dmd.conf to put the path in to where the phobos source files are.
  3. Copy dmd.conf to /etc:
    cp dmd/bin/dmd.conf /etc
    
  4. Give execute permission to the following files:
    chmod u+x dmd/bin/dmd dmd/bin/obj2asm dmd/bin/dumpobj
    
  5. Put dmd/bin on your PATH, or copy the linux executables to /usr/local/bin
  6. Copy the library to /usr/lib:
    cp dmd/lib/libphobos.a /usr/lib
    

Compiler Arguments and Switches

dmd files... -switch...

files...
Extension File Type
none D source files
.d D source files
.di D interface files
.o Object files to link in
.a Library files to link in
-c
compile only, do not link
-cov
instrument for code coverage analysis
-D
generate documentation
-Dddocdir
write documentation file to docdir directory
-Dffilename
write documentation file to filename
-d
allow deprecated features
-debug
compile in debug code
-debug=level
compile in debug code <= level
-debug=ident
compile in debug code identified by ident
-fPIC
generate position independent code
-g
add symbolic debug info
-gc
add symbolic debug info in C format (for older gdb's)
-H
generate D interface file
-Hddir
write D interface file to dir directory
-Hffilename
write D interface file to filename
--help
print help
-inline
inline expand functions
-Ipath
where to look for imports. path is a : separated list of paths. Multiple -I's can be used, and the paths are searched in the same order.
-Llinkerflag
pass linkerflag to the linker, for example, -M
-O
optimize
-o-
suppress generation of object file
-odobjdir
write object files relative to directory objdir instead of to the current directory
-offilename
set output file name to filename in the output directory
-op
normally the path for .d source files is stripped off when generating an object file name. -op will leave it on.
-quiet
suppress non-essential compiler messages
-profile
profile the runtime performance of the generated code
-release
compile release version
-run srcfile args...
compile, link, and run the program srcfile with the rest of the command line, args..., as the arguments to the program. No .o or executable file is left behind.
-unittest
compile in unittest code
-v
verbose
-version=level
compile in version code >= level
-version=ident
compile in version code identified by ident
-w
enable warnings

Linking

Linking is done directly by the dmd compiler after a successful compile. To prevent dmd from running the linker, use the -c switch.

The actual linking is done by running gcc. This ensures compatibility with modules compiled with gcc.

Environment Variables

The D compiler dmd uses the following environment variables:
CC
dmd normally runs the linker by looking for gcc along the PATH. To use a specific linker instead, set the CC environment variable to it. For example:
set CC=gcc
DFLAGS
The value of DFLAGS is treated as if it were appended to the command line to dmd.

dmd.conf Initialization File

dmd will look for the initialization file dmd.conf in the following sequence of directories:
  1. current working directory
  2. directory specified by the HOME environment variable
  3. directory dmd resides in
  4. /etc/
If found, environment variable settings in the file will override any existing settings. This is handy to make dmd independent of programs with conflicting use of environment variables.

Environment variables follow the [Environment] section heading, in name=value pairs. Comments are lines that start with ;. For example:

; dmd.conf file for dmd
; Names enclosed by %% are searched for in the existing environment
; and inserted. The special name %@P% is replaced with the path
; to this file.
[Environment]
DFLAGS="-I%@P%/../src/phobos"

Differences from Win32 version

Linux Bugs


General

D Interface Files

When an import declaration is processed in a D source file, the compiler searches for the D source file corresponding to the import, and processes that source file to extract the information needed from it. Alternatively, the compiler can instead look for a corresponding D interface file. A D interface file contains only what an import of the module needs, rather than the whole implementation of that module.

The advantages of using a D interface file for imports rather than a D source file are:

D interface files can be created by the compiler from a D source file by using the -H switch to the compiler. D interface files have the .di file extension. When the compiler resolves an import declaration, it first looks for a .di D interface file, then it looks for a D source file.

D interface files bear some analogous similarities to C++ header files. But they are not required in the way that C++ header files are, and they are not part of the D language. They are a feature of the compiler, and serve only as an optimization of the build process.

Bugs

These are some of the major bugs:

Questions?

We welcome all feedback - kudos, flames, bugs, suggestions, hints, and most especially donated code! Join the fray in the D forum.