XML CO538 Anonymous Questions and Answers Keyword Index

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Keyword reference for pfe

Question 50 (2004):

Do you know if it is possible to use PFE to compile and run occam programs ? I know it can be done for Java by associating it with the file-extension ".java" and then telling PFE how to deal with those kind of files. I only ask as it would be helpful if I could edit, compile and run occam programs in a single environment.

Answer 50:

Setting up PFE for editing occam is, as you suggest, pretty simple. Compiling and running occam in windows is a fairly non-trivial matter however. The only windows support so far for KRoC is from cygwin, that provides a Linux/UNIX/POSIX-ish environment in windows. The latest pre-releases of KRoC build ok in cygwin, but it's not entirely different from the same things in Linux -- you still have to use a command-line (i.e. the "bash" shell).

It's definitely within the realms of possibility to make PFE launch stuff in cygwin (i.e. the "kroc" compiler, and assuming success, a shell running the program), but this would probably be non-trivial (involving the writing of DOS batch files or bash shell-scripts).

At some point in the future I hope to have a native windows port, but this is fairly low down on the list of things to do. Personally, I think windows is an absolutely awful environment for any kind of programming. With some time and patience committed to Unix you can learn how to edit, compile and run programs very efficiently. Vim is probably one of the most powerful editors available, but like Unix, it takes time to learn how to use it effectively/efficiently.

Keywords: pfe