Overview

The Paradigm C++ Project Manager visually organizes all the files in your project into a project tree. The project tree represents each file in your project as a node on the tree. Indented below each target node are the targets dependencies - the files used to build the target.

View Project Manager

As an application grows in size and complexity, it becomes dependent on various intermediate files. Often, source files need to be compiled with different compilers and different sets of compiler options. The Paradigm C++ Project Manager helps manage all the different components of your application.

Target file extensions

• .AXE
  
• .HEX

Source file extensions

• .C
  
• .CPP
  
• .ASM
  
• .DEF
  
• .OBJ
  
• .LIB
  
• HEADER FILE

Creating a project

The File | New | Project command begins a new project. This opens the New Target dialog box (TargetExpert) where you can set up your application target type, libraries, and so on. Depending on the options you choose with TargetExpert, the Project Manager creates a project with the appropriate default nodes. For example, if you create a new 32-bit program, the Project Manager fills out the project tree with the default .CPP, and .DEF files. If you turn on Show Run-time Nodes (Options | Environment | Project View), the project tree also reflects the .OBJ and .LIB files that are automatically included in the project by the Project Manager.

When you choose a node, the Project Manager invokes the default action on the node. The default action for a specific node depends upon the attributes that are set on the node. For example, a viewer could be invoked if the node can be edited, or a translator might compile or assemble the node.

Node information

Project View options let you choose what information is displayed next to each node. You can display all or a subset of these choices: build translator, code size, data size, description, location, name, number of lines, node type, Style Sheet, output, run-time nodes, project node.

Build Attributes indicate how a Target node will be built by the compiler. The Project Manager uses special glyphs in the left margin to indicate the build attributes of Target node. To apply build attributes to a node (and for a reference on the different Project Manager glyphs), right-click the node, then choose Edit Local Options from the SpeedMenu and select the Build Attributes topic.

View Build Attributes

Style Sheets

A Style Sheet is a group of option settings. Option settings control how target nodes in your project are built. You can attach Style Sheets to entire projects or to individual nodes in a project. You can attach one or more Style Sheets to your entire project or assign one or more Style Sheets to individual nodes in your project. You can use the default Style Sheet set up by Project | New Project or you can attach your own Style Sheet.

View Style Sheet dialog

A Source Pool is a collection of nodes that a Target node references as a single unit. Using source pools in your project, you can share common nodes or project options. A source pool can share a Style Sheet between targets, or invoke a tool at a specific location in your build process.

Source Pools are particularly helpful when you have a set of header files that needs to be included throughout your project. If you place the header files in a Source Pool, you can easily reference them by each node that uses them. Then, if you need to make changes to the group of header files, you only have to update the one Source Pool. Sharing a set of source files is also invaluable when you are building two versions of a library—using a Source Pool insures that both library versions are always in-sync.

With Source Pools, multiple Target nodes can share a single set of options settings. If the options are contained in a single Style Sheet, and multiple targets in a project use this Style Sheet, each Target node can reference a Source Pool that contains that Style Sheet.