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Chapter 5 - Compile Time Commands






5.1 Compiler Utility Commands


These commands are similar to the C preprocessor in terms of purpose and functionality. They allow file inclusion, conditional compilation, executable header packing, and processes execution during the build process. Note: none of these commands allow use of variables.




5.1.1 !include


file

This command will include 'file' as if it was part of the original script. Note that if a file is included in another directory, the current directory is still where the script was compiled from (not where the included file resides). If the compiler can't find the file it will look for it in every include directory. See !addincludedir for more information.




5.1.2 !addincludedir


directory

Adds another include directory to the include directories list. This list is searched when !include is used. This list's initial value is ${NSISDIR}\Include alone.




5.1.3 !addplugindir


directory

Causes the NSIS compiler to scan the given directory for Plugin DLLs.




5.1.4 !cd


new_path

This command will change the compiler to the new directory, new_path. new_path can be relative or absolute.




5.1.5 !echo


message

This command will echo a message to the user compiling the script.




5.1.6 !error


[message]

This command will issue an error to the script compiler and will stop execution of the script. You can also add a message to this error.




5.1.7 !packhdr


tempfile command

This option makes the compiler an external EXE packer (such as Petite or UPX) to compress the executable header. Specify a temporary file name (such as "temp.dat") and a command line (such as "C:\program files\upx\upx -9 temp.dat") to compress the header.




5.1.8 !system


command [compare comparevalue]

This command will execute 'command' using a call to system(), and if the return value compared (using 'compare') to 'comparevalue' is false, execution will halt. 'compare' can be '<' or '>' or '<>' or '='.




5.1.9 !warning


[message]

This command will issue a warning to the script compiler. You can also add a message to this warning.




5.1.10 !verbose


level | push | pop

This command will set the level of verbosity. 4=all, 3=no script, 2=no info, 1=no warnings, 0=none.

Passing push will cause !verbose to push the current verbosity level on a special stack. Passing pop will cause !verbose to pop the current verbosity level from the same stack and use it.




5.2 Predefines


You can use these standard predefines to automatically add the build time to the title of development versions, add the date to the version number, etc.




5.2.1 ${__FILE__}


Current script name.




5.2.2 ${__LINE__}


Current line number.




5.2.3 ${__DATE__}


Date according to the current locale.




5.2.4 ${__TIME__}


Time according to the current locale.




5.2.5 ${__TIMESTAMP__}


Date & time according to the current locale.


5.3 Conditional Compilation


The compiler maintains a list of defined symbols, which can be defined using !define or the /D command line switch. These defined symbols can be used for conditional compilation (using !ifdef) or for symbol replacement (a simple form of macros). To replace a symbol with its value, use ${SYMBOL} (if SYMBOL is not defined, no translation will occur). The translation is first-come-first-served, meaning if you do:

!define symbol1 ${symbol2}

If symbol2 is defined when that line occurs, it will be replaced. Otherwise, any replacing will occur when ${symbol1} is referenced.

Define/conditional compilation related commands:




5.3.1 !define


gflag [value]

This command will add 'gflag' to the global define list. This will have a similar effect as using the /D switch on the command line (only the define only becomes effective after the !define command).




5.3.2 !ifdef


gflag [bcheck [gflag [...]]]

This command, when paired with an !endif command, will tell the compiler whether or not to compile the lines in between the two lines. If gflag is globally defined (using !define or the /D switch), then the contained lines will be compiled. Otherwise, they will be skipped. 'bcheck' can be specified as & (boolean and) or | (boolean or) along with more gflags -- precedence is simple, left to right.




5.3.3 !ifndef


gflag [bcheck [gflag [...]]]

This command is the logical lovemonkey to !ifdef and !endif. !ifdef/!else/!endif, !ifdef/!else ifdef/!endif, !ifdef/!else ifdef/!else ifndef/!endif, etc. If ifdef or ifndef is specified as the first parameter, it behaves as expected.




5.3.4 !else


[ifdef|ifndef [...]]

This command is the opposite of !ifdef (If 'gflag' is not globally defined, the lines contained will be compiled). Note that when using boolean operators (& or |), 'gflag' is treated as true if it is undefined. e.g. '!ifndef X | Y' means "if either X or Y is undefined" and '!ifndef X & Y' means "if X and Y are both undefined".




5.3.5 !endif


This command closes a block started with !ifdef or !ifndef.




5.3.6 !insertmacro


!insertmacro macro_name [parameter] [...]

Inserts the contents of a macro that was created with !macro. If the macro was created with parameters, then you must pass as many parameters to the macro as it requires.




5.3.7 !macro


!macro macro_name [parameter][...]

Creates a macro named 'macro_name'. All lines between the !macro and the !macroend will be saved. To insert the macro later on, use !insertmacro. !macro definitions can have one or more parameters defined. The parameters may be accessed the same way a !define would (e.g. ${PARMNAME}) from inside the macro.




5.3.8 !macroend


Ends a macro that was started with !macro.




5.3.9 !undef


!undef gflag

Removes an item from the global define list. Note that ${SYMBOL} where SYMBOL is undefined will be translated to "${SYMBOL}".


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