NAME
idl - Invokes the Interface Definition Language (IDL) compiler
SYNOPSIS
idl filename [argument] ...
DESCRIPTION
The idl command invokes the IDL compiler to convert an interface
definition, written in IDL, into output files. The output files
include a header file, server stub file, client stub file, and
auxiliary files. The compiler constructs the names of the output
files by keeping the basename of the interface definition source file
but replacing the filename extension with the new extension (or suffix
and extension) appropriate to the newly generated type of output file.
For example, math.idl could produce math_sstub.c or math_sstub.o for
the server stub.
The idl command accepts the following input:
+ An interface definition filename.
+ Arguments to indicate either special actions to be performed by
the compiler, or special properties of the input or output files.
The IDL compiler searches through directories for any related ACF.
For example, if you compile a file named source.idl, the compiler
automatically searches for a file named source.acf. The compiler
also searches for any imported IDL file (and its related ACF).
The compiler searches for these files using the following order:
1. The current working directory. The compiler always searches
this directory unless you specify the -no_def_idir and
-Idirectory arguments together.
2. Any imported directory. The compiler searches each directory you
are specifying in the -Idirectory argument.
3. The system IDL directory. The compiler automatically imports
nbase.idl, which resides in the system IDL directory. The
compiler always searches this directory unless you specify the
-no_def_idir argument.
4. The directory specified in the source filename. If you
explicitly specify a directory in the source IDL pathname,
then that directory is searched for the corresponding ACF.
For example,
$ idl /path/pathname/my_source.idl
causes the IDL compiler to look for /path/pathname/my_source.acf
if my_source.acf is not found in the directories in 1,2 and 3.
Note that this directory is not searched for any imported IDL file
or its corresponding ACF.
Restrictions
The following filenames are reserved by the IDL compiler. Naming an
IDL file with one of these names may result in unexpected behavior.
iovector.idl lbase.idl nbase.idl ncastat.idl
ndrold.idl rpc.idl rpcbase.idl rpcpvt.idl
rpcsts.idl rpctypes.idl twr.idl uuid.idl
CAUTIONS
The IDL compiler generates ANSI C code. It also supports C compilers
that are not fully ANSI compliant although a warning message may occur
during compilation of the stubs by the C compiler. A C compiler that
is not fully ANSI compliant may generate the following warning messages:
+ warning: & before array or function: ignored
+ warning: enumeration type clash, operator =
FILES
SYS$SYSTEM:DCE$IDL.EXE
Compiler
SYS$COMMON:[DCE$LIBRARY]
System IDL directory for imported files
SYS$COMMON:[DCE$LIBRARY]NBASE.IDL
Predefined IDL types
SYS$COMMON:[DCE$LIBRARY]<file.ext>
All .idl or .h files that are part of DCE RPC
RELATED INFORMATION
Books: OSF DCE Application Development Guide
1 – ARGUMENTS
1.1 – -client
-client file_type
Determines which client files to generate. If you do not specify
this argument, the compiler generates all client files. The file
types are as follows:
none Does not generate client files.
stub Generates only a client stub file.
aux Generates only a client auxiliary file. A client auxiliary
file is generated only if the interface contains any
out-of- line or self-pointing types.
all Generates client stub and client auxiliary files. This is
the default and is the same as not specifying the -client
argument.
1.2 – -server
-server file_type
Determines which server files to generate. If you do not specify
this argument, the compiler generates all server files. The file
types are as follows:
none Does not generate server files.
stub Generates only a server stub file.
aux Generates only a server auxiliary file. A server auxiliary
file is generated only if the interface contains any
out-of-line, self-pointing, or pipe types.
all Generates server stub and server auxiliary files. This is
the default and is the same as not specifying the -server
argument.
1.3 – -standard
-standard standard_type -
Allows you to specify portable or extended features of the OSF DCE.
This option is useful when you perform builds. The standard_type
argument specifies what IDL features to enable. If you do not
specify this argument, the compiler generates warning messages for
all features that are not available in the previous version of OSF
DCE.
You can specify one of the following values for the standard_type
argument:
portable
Allows only the language features available in OSF DCE
Version 1.0.2.
dce_v10
Synonymous with the portable argument.
dec_v10
Allows all language features supported by the standard
dce_v10 argument, plus a set of HP extensions to
its products based on OSF DCE Version 1.0.
extended
Allows all language features supported in the current
version of the compiler. This is the default.
dce_v11
Synonymous with the extended argument.
The following example command line compiles the IDL interface
test.idl and enables extended features of the OSF DCE:
% idl test.idl -standard extended
1.4 – -cstub
-cstub filename Specifies a pathname for the client stub file. When you give a filename, do not give a file extension; the idl compiler appends .c to the C source file and .o to the object file. If you do not use the -cstub argument, the idl compiler appends _cstub.c to the C source file and _cstub.o to the object file. If the -lang cxx option is used, the source file will have the .cxx extension.
1.5 – -sstub
-sstub filename Specifies a pathname for the server stub file. When you give a filename, do not give a file extension; the idl compiler appends .c to the C source file and .o to the object file. If you do not use the -sstub argument, the idl compiler appends _sstub.c to the C source file and _sstub.o to the object file. If the -lang cxx option is used, the source file will have the .cxx extension.
1.6 – -caux
-caux filename Specifies a pathname for the client auxiliary file. When you give a filename, do not give a file extension; the idl compiler appends .c to the C source file and .o to the object file. If you do not use the -caux argument, the idl compiler appends _caux.c to the C source file and _caux.o to the object file. If the -lang cxx option is used, the source file will have the .cxx extension.
1.7 – -saux
-saux filename Specifies a pathname for the server auxiliary file. When you give a filename, do not give a file extension; the idl compiler appends .c to the C source file and .o to the object file. If you do not use the -caux argument, the idl compiler appends _saux.c to the C source file and _saux.o to the object file. If the -lang cxx option is used, the source file will have the .cxx extension.
1.8 – -header
-header header_file Allows you to specify a name for the generated header file. By default the compiler takes the basename of the IDL file and appends the .h extension to it.
1.9 – -out
-out directory Places the output files in the directory you specify. By default the compiler places the output files in the current working directory.
1.10 – -Idirectory
-Idirectory Specifies a directory name that contains imported interface definition files. You can specify more than one directory by specifying additional -Idirectory arguments on the command line. The compiler searches the directories in the order you list them. If a file is present in more than one directory, the compiler takes the first occurrence of the file. The default behavior of the compiler is to first search the current directory, then all directories you specify, then the system IDL directory. The directory you specify is also passed to the C preprocessor and the C compiler.
1.11 – -no_def_idir
-no_def_idir Specifies that the compiler search only the current directory for imported files. When you use this with -Idirectory, the compiler searches only the directories you list, not the current directory, and not the system IDL directory.
1.12 – -no_mepv
-no_mepv Causes the compiler to not generate a manager entry point vector (EPV) in the server stub. Use this argument if the manager code and IDL file do not use the same operation names. If you specify this argument you must provide an EPV within the manager code that can be used when the interface is registered with the RPC server runtime. The name of the type that you construct an EPV with is if_name_vmajor-version_minor-version_epv_t where if_name is the interface name. It is not necessary to use this argument if the operation names in the manager code and IDL file are the same. In this case, the compiler generates a manager EPV in the server stub using the names of the operations in the IDL file. (For information on registering the server, see the intro and rpc_server_register_if reference pages. See the OSF DCE Application Development Guide.)
1.13 – -cepv
-cepv Generates local routines in the client stub file(<filename>_cstub.c) and defines a Client Entry Point Vector (CEPV) of the name if_name_vmajor-version_minor-version_c_epv where if_name is the interface name. The CEPV contains the addresses of the local routines. The client code must call the routines indirectly by using the addresses in the CEPV; otherwise, the stub routines in the client stub file must have the same names as the operations in the IDL file. (For information on registering the server, see the intro and rpc_server_register_if reference pages. See the OSF DCE Application Development Guide.)
1.14 – -cpp_cmd
-cpp_cmd 'c_preprocessor_command_line' Allows you to specify a C preprocessor other than the default. The compiler invokes the C preprocessor found in that command line. The output of the C preprocessor is an expanded version of the input file(s) containing replacement text for any preprocessor directives (for example, the #include preprocessor directive).
1.15 – -cpp_opt
-cpp_opt 'command_options' Specifies additional options to be passed to the C preprocessor. You can add options to the command line used to invoke the C preprocessor independent of the -cpp_cmd argument. The IDL compiler concatenates the -cpp_cmd, -cpp_opt, -D, -U, -I arguments and the source filename into a command used to invoke the C preprocessor. The compiler repeats this process for each Attribute Configuration File (ACF) and IDL file.
1.16 – -no_cpp
-no_cpp Does not invoke the C preprocessor. Note that the C preprocessor must be run on files that contain preprocessor directives (such as #include) in the interface definition.
1.17 – -cc_cmd
-cc_cmd 'command_line' Invokes the C compiler and compiler options you specify in the 'command_line' argument rather than the default C compiler and compiler options. When used with the -lang cxx option, the -cc_cmd option specifies the C++ compiler.
1.18 – -cc_opt
-cc_opt 'command_options' Specifies additional options to be passed to the C compiler. You can add options to the command line used to invoke the C compiler independent of the -cc_cmd argument. The IDL compiler concatenates the -cc_cmd, -cc_opt, -I arguments and the source filename into a command that invokes the C compiler. This procedure is done for each generated stub or auxiliary file. When used with the -lang cxx option, the -cc_opt option specifies the C++ compiler options.
1.19 – -Dname
-Dname[=definition] Defines a symbol name and an optional value to be passed to the C preprocessor. You can use this method of defining a symbol instead of using #define in the source code. You can use more than one -Dname argument on the command line. This argument has no effect if you use the -no_cpp argument.
1.20 – -Uname
-Uname Removes (undefines) any initial definition of a symbol name as defined by -Dname. You can use this method to remove a symbol name instead of using #undef in the source code. You can use more than one -Uname argument on the command line. This argument has no effect if you use the -no_cpp argument. If you define and undefine a name on the same command line, undefining takes precedence.
1.21 – -space_opt
-space_opt Generates code for the marshalling and unmarshalling of data that is optimized for space, rather than speed.
1.22 – -syntax_only
-syntax_only Checks only the syntax of the IDL file, but does not generate any output files.
1.23 – -keep
-keep file_types
Specifies which files to retain. To produce the object modules, the
IDL compiler first creates C source modules, then invokes the
target C compiler to produce object modules, and finally, deletes
the C source modules. If you do not use -keep, only the object
modules are saved.
The file types are as follows:
none Does not save the C source or the object modules. Does not
invoke the C compiler.
c_source
Saves only the C source modules. Does not invoke the C
compiler.
object Saves only the object modules.
all Saves both the C source and the object modules.
1.24 – -bug
-bug n, -no_bug n Retains (-bug) or does not retain (-no_bug) a specified bug from earlier IDL compiler versions. (This in an NCS compatibility argument and is not supported in OSF DCE Version 1.1).
1.25 – -stdin
-stdin
Takes the standard output of a previous utility as the input to the
idl command. For example:
$ pipe type my_filename.idl | idl -stdin
1.26 – -version
- version Displays the current version of the IDL compiler.
1.27 – -v
-v Prints informational messages (verbose mode) on the screen while the compiler is running.
1.28 – -no_warn
-no_warn Suppresses compiler warning messages.
1.29 – -confirm
-confirm Displays all the idl command arguments you chose, but does not compile the source IDL file. If you use this with the -v argument, informational messages about how the compiler behaves if you do not use -confirm are displayed but no corresponding actions are performed.
1.30 – -template_client
-template_client filename Requests that the IDL compiler generate a C source file containing a template implementation of each routine that must appear in the client application to use the specified IDL interface. If you do not specify an extension for filename, the compiler assigns the file extension .c.
1.31 – -template_manager
-template_manager filename Requests that the IDL compiler generate a C source file containing a template implementation of each routine and operation that must appear in the manager module of the server side of an application to use the specified IDL interface. If you do not specify an extension for filename, the compiler assigns the file extension .c.
1.32 – -trace
-trace value
Enables event logging.
You can specify one of the following values for the value argument:
all Log all events.
none Disable all previously specified trace options.
calls Log events relating to start and end of all RPC calls.
context
Log events relating to context handle creation, deletion,
and rundown.
errors
Log errors.
misc Log all miscellaneous events.
log_manager
Enable command interface support which allows
modification at runtime of event logging options.
1.33 – -lang
-lang {c, cxx, fortran}
Allows you to select a programming language.
If you are generating stubs and include files for application code
written in C++, you must specify cxx as the language of choice when
you compile the application's IDL file. When appropriate, you can
extend the class hierarchy and derive other classes from this one,
to implement some or all interface operations. The C++ compiler
gives a warning if any functions in the interface class have not
been implemented. Avoid overwriting the manager class header file
by using the -no_cxxmgr argument in conjunction with the -lang cxx
argument.
If you are generating stubs and include files for application code
written in FORTRAN, you must specify FORTRAN as the language of
choice when you compile the application's IDL file.
If you do not specify -lang fortran or -lang cxx, the default value
is the C programming language or -lang c.
1.34 – -no_cxxmgr
-no_cxxmgr Prevents the compiler from overwriting the manager class header file. Use this argument in conjunction with the -lang cxx argument if you implement application-specific C++ code in the manager class header file.
2 – EXAMPLES
1. Invoke the IDL compiler to compile the interface definition file
test.idl and keep the generated C source modules. Only server
files are generated. The server stub default filename is
overridden by creating a file named test_ss.c for the server
stub module.
$ idl test.idl -keep c_source -client none -sstub test_ss.c
2. Invoke the IDL compiler to compile the interface definition file
test.idl, but do not run the C preprocessor. The manager entry
point vector is not defined in the generated server stub module.
The IDL compiler searches the parent directory of the current
directory for any IDL files that test.idl could import. The
generated output files are located in the output subdirectory
under the current directory.
$ idl test.idl -no_cpp -no_mepv -I.. -out ./output