Compiler (Views)

Introduction

The compiler is probably the most versatile component of Origen and which will allow you to dynamically customize any ASCII file to the current target. This is often called ‘creating a view’ of the current model/target. For example this can be used to compile device-specific versions of your documentation, C code, RTL, test program sheets, Visual Basic, .csv files, etc, etc, etc.

When employed in this capacity Origen is often used to replace traditional pre-compilers (the place where your #ifdefs are evaluated) to provide the benefit of being able to manage device configurations in an object oriented fashion.

Additional benefits of the Origen compiler are:

• It is universal
  • It could be the last compiler you ever need to learn
  • Ideal for managing source files for different tool chains under a centrally managed configuration e.g. compile RTL and firmware against a common target model
• It is generally more powerful than domain-specific compilers
  • The entire Ruby language is available to implement build logic
  • It can actually generate content into the template as well as conditionally including/excluding sections of it
• It supplements Origen to cover gaps in the generation APIs e.g. the J750 test program generator does not currently provide a DC spec generator API, that gap can be easily plugged by using a template for that sheet