Software build extensibility

• US 7,596,782 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2003
• Issued: 09/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yang, Ting-Hao, Ebbo, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam; Tuan Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, THUY CHAN
• Application Number:
  US10/692,765
• Publication Number:
  US 20050091230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,167 Days
• Field of Search: 717/140
• US Class Current: 717/141
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

In a first exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include a build provider that is tailored for a particular file type, the build provider adapted to generate code from files corresponding to the particular file type and to contribute the generated code to a compilation. In a second exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a device to perform actions including: accepting multiple files, each file of the multiple files corresponding to a respective file type and including source code; associating a build provider with each file of the multiple files in accordance with the corresponding respective file type; ascertaining the source code of each file of the multiple files via the associated build provider; and compiling the ascertained source code of each file of the multiple files into an assembly.

Claims

1. One or more processor-accessible storage media comprising processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a device to perform file compilation actions, comprising:

accepting a plurality of files, each file of the plurality of files corresponding to a respective file type and including source code, wherein at least two files have different file types;

instantiating a plurality of build providers, wherein each of the plurality of build providers is exclusively associated with one file type;

instantiating a single instance of a build provider host, wherein the build provider host includes a plurality of interfaces, wherein each of the plurality of interfaces is associated with one of the plurality of build providers during file compilation actions;

calling a file path interface of each of the plurality of build providers, wherein a path to each associated file is received at the respective build providers from the build provider host;

invoking a usable code language interface of each of the plurality of build providers, wherein each of the plurality of build providers provides a code language to be used during file compilation actions;

sequentially calling a generate code interface of each build provider, wherein each build provider contributes at least a portion of the source code of the build provider'"'"'s associated file to be compiled via one or more of;

writing the source code to a code file object by calling a create code file object interface of the build provider host;

writing the source code to a stipulated path by calling a get code file path interface of the build provider host; and

generating a code compile unit by calling a get code object model provider interface and an add code compile unit interface of the build provider host;

ascertaining one or more resources of each file of the plurality of files via the associated build provider;

accessing a configuration file including a data structure that exclusively maps respective file types of the plurality of files to a respective build provider, wherein a new build provider is registered by updating the data structure of the configuration file to include a new entry that maps a new file type to the new build provider;

launching a compiler to compile the source code and the one or more resources of each file of the plurality of files into a single target assembly; and

using a build provider manager to control the plurality of build providers and the build provider host during file compilation actions.

2. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of interfaces of the build provider host further includes one or more of:

a get referenced assemblies interface;

an add assembly reference interface; and

a create embedded resource interface.

3. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 2, wherein, upon execution:

the get referenced assemblies returns a collection of one or more assemblies to be compiled;

the add assembly reference adds at least one assembly to be referenced during compilation;

the create code file object creates a file object that is to include a new source code for compilation;

the get code file path returns a path to a file having source code to be included in compilation;

the get code object model provider returns a code object model provider usable to generate a code compile unit;

the add code compile unit enables one of the build providers to add another code compile unit to file compilation; and

the create embedded resource creates a new resource to be added to file compilation.

4. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein calling the file path interface of each build provider further comprises one of:

calling a physical file path; and

calling a virtual file path.

5. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein each file type is specified by one of:

an extension;

a file naming scheme for an operating system;

a file attribute; and

a file tag.

6. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining the code language for one of the plurality of files;

returning the code language if the code language is determined; and

returning a null if the code language is language agnostic.

7. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the source code of a respective file is one or more of:

contiguous;

discontinuous;

including one or more modules;

intermixed with other non-code portions; and

directly or indirectly derived from non-code portions.

8. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein generating a code compile unit by calling a get code object model provider interface and an add code compile unit interface of the build provider host further comprises generating the code compile unit as a language-independent structure.

9. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the action of compiling further comprises constructing at least one of:

an object code file;

an executable file;

a dynamically linked library file; and

an intermediate language file.

10. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein ascertaining one or more resources of each file of the plurality of files via the associated build provider further comprises calling a create embedded resource interface of the build provider host.

11. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the processor-executable instructions comprise at least part of an operating system.

12. The one or more processor-accessible storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the processor-executable instructions comprise at least part of a program that is capable of establishing a runtime environment.