Re: [Boost-build] Explanation of word "grist" in documentation

Subject: Re: [Boost-build] Explanation of word "grist" in documentation
From: aaron_at_[hidden]
Date: 2016-05-23 20:39:19

> I follow your example but I don't follow the notion of "grist" in 
> general. I don't see what it is about 'static' that relates to 
> "filename-related components".

Actually,  "static" doesn't relate to "filename-related components" at all.
 
---
 
What that part of the documentation is saying is that you can
perform operations on the values of the variable assuming the value
contains a grist or a path-like. The operation performed is dependent
upon the modifier used.
 
For example, if I wanted to see which features were in the variable "x"
I could use the :G modifier to do the following
 
# create my list of properties
local x = <toolset>gcc <link>static ;
echo $(x:G) ;
# will ouput: <toolset> <link>
 
Likewise, if I wanted to see only the values of the properties, I could use
the ":G=" modifier (which allows me to set the "grist" to whatever value
comes after the "=", in this case, I'm setting it to the empty string):
 
local x = <toolset>gcc <link>static ;
echo $(x:G=) ;
# will output: gcc static
 
Note: I would only use the above modifiers if I knew that all of the value(s)
in my variable were properties.
 
It's also possible to use the other modifiers when you know that the value(s)
in the variable are paths or path-like. For example,
 
local x = path/to/some/file.cpp ;
# if I wanted to get the parent directory, I could use the :P modifier
echo $(x:P) ;
# outputs: path/to/some
 
# if I wanted to get the base name (no path and no extension), I could
# use the :B modifier
echo $(x:B) ;
# outputs: file
 
Whenever I need to play around with the Jam language, I will throw some
statements at the top of my Jamroot (like the examples above) followed by
"exit" rule. For example:
 
local x = a b c ;
local y = 1 2 3 ;
echo $(x)$(y) ;
exit ;  # exit here so that nothing builds
 
Hopefully that helps,
Aaron