Re: [Boost-build] Using 'explicit' targets

Subject: Re: [Boost-build] Using 'explicit' targets
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2016-05-16 05:02:45

On 5/15/2016 7:45 PM, Steven Watanabe wrote:
> AMDG
>
> On 05/15/2016 05:32 PM, Edward Diener wrote:
>> On 5/15/2016 6:58 PM, Steven Watanabe wrote:
>>>
>>> $ b2 . expl
>>
>> That's what I need. Is the use of '.' to mean all non-explicit targets
>> documented anywhere ? If not it should be.
>>
>
> There's no specific documentation as it isn't
> a special case.
>
> http://www.boost.org/build/doc/html/bbv2/overview/invocation.html#bbv2.overview.invocation.targets
>
> http://www.boost.org/build/doc/html/bbv2/reference/definitions.html#bbv2.reference.ids
>
> http://www.boost.org/build/doc/html/bbv2/reference/rules.html#bbv2.reference.rules.explicit
>
> The reason that it works is:
> a) Putting a directory on the command line
>    builds the project in that directory.

This is not documented as far as I can see. In particular:

target-id -> (project-id | target-name | file-name )
               | (project-id | directory-name) "//" target-name

tells me that directory-name must be followed by "//" and a target name 
to be valid. Instead you are now saying that directory-name alone is a 
valid target-id.

> b) Building a project means building
>    all non-explicit targets in the project.
>
> Thus, '.' builds all non-explicit targets
> in the project in the current working directory.