1erlc(1) User Commands erlc(1)
2
6 erlc - Compiler
7
9 The erlc program provides a common way to run all compilers in the
10 Erlang system. Depending on the extension of each input file, erlc
11 invokes the appropriate compiler. Regardless of which compiler is used,
12 the same flags are used to provide parameters, such as include paths
13 and output directory.
14 The current working directory, ".", is not included in the code path
16 when running the compiler. This to avoid loading Beam files from the
17 current working directory that could potentially be in conflict with
18 the compiler or the Erlang/OTP system used by the compiler.
19
21 erlc flags file1.ext file2.ext...
22 Compiles one or more files. The files must include the exten‐
24 sion, for example, .erl for Erlang source code, or .yrl for Yecc
25 source code. Erlc uses the extension to invoke the correct com‐
26 piler.
27
29 The following flags are supported:
30 -I <Directory>:
32 Instructs the compiler to search for include files in the Direc‐
33 tory. When encountering an -include or -include_lib directive, the
34 compiler searches for header files in the following directories:
35 * ".", the current working directory of the file server
37 * The base name of the compiled file
39 * The directories specified using option -I; the directory speci‐
41 fied last is searched first
42 -o <Directory>:
44 The directory where the compiler is to place the output files.
45 Defaults to the current working directory.
46 -D<Name>:
48 Defines a macro.
49 -D<Name>=<Value>:
51 Defines a macro with the specified value. The value can be any
52 Erlang term. Depending on the platform, the value may need to be
53 quoted if the shell itself interprets certain characters. On Unix,
54 terms containing tuples and lists must be quoted. Terms containing
55 spaces must be quoted on all platforms.
56 -W<Error>:
58 Makes all warnings into errors.
59 -W<Number>:
61 Sets warning level to Number. Defaults to 1. To turn off warnings,
62 use -W0.
63 -W:
65 Same as -W1. Default.
66 -v:
68 Enables verbose output.
69 -b <Output_type>:
71 Specifies the type of output file. Output_type is the same as the
72 file extension of the output file, but without the period. This
73 option is ignored by compilers that have a single output format.
74 -smp:
76 Compiles using the SMP emulator. This is mainly useful for compil‐
77 ing native code, which must be compiled with the same runtime sys‐
78 tem that it is to be run on.
79 -M:
81 Produces a Makefile rule to track header dependencies. The rule is
82 sent to stdout. No object file is produced.
83 -MF <Makefile>:
85 As option -M, except that the Makefile is written to Makefile. No
86 object file is produced.
87 -MD:
89 Same as -M -MF <File>.Pbeam.
90 -MT <Target>:
92 In conjunction with option -M or -MF, changes the name of the rule
93 emitted to Target.
94 -MQ <Target>:
96 As option -MT, except that characters special to make/1 are quoted.
97 -MP:
99 In conjunction with option -M or -MF, adds a phony target for each
100 dependency.
101 -MG:
103 In conjunction with option -M or -MF, considers missing headers as
104 generated files and adds them to the dependencies.
105 --:
107 Signals that no more options will follow. The rest of the arguments
108 is treated as filenames, even if they start with hyphens.
109 +<Term>:
111 A flag starting with a plus (+) rather than a hyphen is converted
112 to an Erlang term and passed unchanged to the compiler. For exam‐
113 ple, option export_all for the Erlang compiler can be specified as
114 follows:
115 erlc +export_all file.erl
117 Depending on the platform, the value may need to be quoted if the
119 shell itself interprets certain characters. On Unix, terms contain‐
120 ing tuples and lists must be quoted. Terms containing spaces must
121 be quoted on all platforms.
122
124 The following flags are useful in special situations, such as rebuild‐
125 ing the OTP system:
126 -pa <Directory>:
128 Appends Directory to the front of the code path in the invoked
129 Erlang emulator. This can be used to invoke another compiler than
130 the default one.
131 -pz <Directory>:
133 Appends Directory to the code path in the invoked Erlang emulator.
134
136 The following compilers are supported:
137 .erl:
139 Erlang source code. It generates a .beam file.
140 Options -P, -E, and -S are equivalent to +'P', +'E', and +'S',
142 except that it is not necessary to include the single quotes to
143 protect them from the shell.
144 Supported options: -I, -o, -D, -v, -W, -b.
146 .S:
148 Erlang assembler source code. It generates a .beam file.
149 Supported options: same as for .erl.
151 .core:
153 Erlang core source code. It generates a .beam file.
154 Supported options: same as for .erl.
156 .yrl:
158 Yecc source code. It generates an .erl file.
159 Use option -I with the name of a file to use that file as a custom‐
161 ized prologue file (option includefile).
162 Supported options: -o, -v, -I, -W.
164 .mib:
166 MIB for SNMP. It generates a .bin file.
167 Supported options: -I, -o, -W.
169 .bin:
171 A compiled MIB for SNMP. It generates a .hrl file.
172 Supported options: -o, -v.
174 .rel:
176 Script file. It generates a boot file.
177 Use option -I to name directories to be searched for application
179 files (equivalent to the path in the option list for sys‐
180 tools:make_script/2).
181 Supported option: -o.
183 .asn1:
185 ASN1 file. It creates an .erl, .hrl, and .asn1db file from an .asn1
186 file. Also compiles the .erl using the Erlang compiler unless
187 option +noobj is specified.
188 Supported options: -I, -o, -b, -W.
190 .idl:
192 IC file. It runs the IDL compiler.
193 Supported options: -I, -o.
195
197 ERLC_EMULATOR:
198 The command for starting the emulator. Defaults to erl in the same
199 directory as the erlc program itself, or, if it does not exist, erl
200 in any of the directories specified in environment variable PATH.
201
203 erl(1), compile(3), yecc(3), snmp(3)
204Ericsson AB erts 9.3.3.10 erlc(1)