/usr/share/doc/swi-prolog-doc/Manual/compilation.html

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<H2><A NAME="sec:2.10"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Compilation</SPAN></A></H2>

<A NAME="sec:compilation"></A>

<H3><A NAME="sec:2.10.1"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10.1</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">During 
program development</SPAN></A></H3>

<A NAME="sec:develcomp"></A>

<P>During program development, programs are normally loaded using
<A NAME="idx:consult1:103"></A><A class="pred" href="consulting.html#consult/1">consult/1</A>, 
or the list abbreviation. It is common practice to organise a project as 
a collection of source files and a <EM>load-file</EM>, a Prolog file 
containing only <A NAME="idx:usemodule12:104"></A><A class="pred" href="import.html#use_module/1">use_module/[1,2]</A> 
or <A NAME="idx:ensureloaded1:105"></A><A class="pred" href="consulting.html#ensure_loaded/1">ensure_loaded/1</A> 
directives, possibly with a definition of the <EM>entry-point</EM> of 
the program, the predicate that is normally used to start the program. 
This file is often called <CODE>load.pl</CODE>. If the entry-point is 
called
<EM>go</EM>, a typical session starts as:

<PRE class="code">
% pl
&lt;banner&gt;

1 ?- [load].
&lt;compilation messages&gt;

Yes
2 ?- go.
&lt;program interaction&gt;
</PRE>

<P>When using Windows, the user may open <CODE>load.pl</CODE> from the 
Windows explorer, which will cause <B>plwin.exe</B> to be started in the 
directory holding <CODE>load.pl</CODE>. Prolog loads <CODE>load.pl</CODE> 
before entering the top-level.

<H3><A NAME="sec:2.10.2"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10.2</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">For 
running the result</SPAN></A></H3>

<A NAME="sec:runcomp"></A>

<P>There are various options if you want to make your program ready for 
real usage. The best choice depends on whether the program is to be used 
only on machines holding the SWI-Prolog development system, the size of 
the program and the operating system (Unix vs. Windows).

<H4><A NAME="sec:2.10.2.1"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10.2.1</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Using 
PrologScript</SPAN></A></H4>

<A NAME="sec:plscript"></A>

<P>New in version 4.0.5 is the possibility to use a Prolog source file 
directly as a Unix script-file. The same mechanism is useful to specify 
additional parameters for running a Prolog file on Windows.

<P>If the first letter of a Prolog file is <CODE>#</CODE>, the first 
line is treated as comment.<SUP class="fn">6<SPAN class="fn-text">The <TT>#</TT>-sign 
can be the legal start of a normal Prolog clause. In the unlikely case 
this is required, leave the first line blank or add a header-comment.</SPAN></SUP> 
To create a Prolog script, make the first line start like this:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<CODE>#!/path/to/pl</CODE> &lt;<VAR>options</VAR>&gt; <CODE>-s</CODE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>Prolog recognises this starting sequence and causes the interpreter 
to receive the following argument-list:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<CODE>/path/to/pl</CODE> &lt;<VAR>options</VAR>&gt; <CODE>-s</CODE> &lt;<VAR>script</VAR>&gt; <CODE>--</CODE> &lt;<VAR>ScriptArguments</VAR>&gt;
</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>Instead of <STRONG>-s</STRONG>, the user may use <STRONG>-f</STRONG> 
to stop Prolog from looking for a personal initialisation file.

<P>Here is a simple script doing expression evaluation:

<PRE class="code">
#!/usr/bin/pl -q -t main -f

eval :-
        current_prolog_flag(argv, Argv),
        append(_, [--|Args], Argv),
        concat_atom(Args, ' ', SingleArg),
        term_to_atom(Term, SingleArg),
        Val is Term,
        format('~w~n', [Val]).

main :-
        catch(eval, E, (print_message(error, E), fail)),
        halt.
main :-
        halt(1).
</PRE>

<P>And here are two example runs:

<PRE class="code">
% eval 1+2
3
% eval foo
ERROR: Arithmetic: `foo/0' is not a function
%
</PRE>

<P><B>The Windows version</B> supports the <CODE>#!</CODE> construct 
too, but here it serves a rather different role. The Windows shell 
already allows the user to start Prolog source files directly through 
the Windows file-type association. Windows however makes it rather 
complicated to provide additional parameters, such as the required 
stack-size for an individual Prolog file. The <CODE>#!</CODE> line 
provides for this, providing a more flexible approach than changing the 
global defaults. The following starts Prolog with unlimited stack-size 
on the given source file:

<PRE class="code">
#!/usr/bin/pl -L0 -T0 -G0 -s

....
</PRE>

<P>Note the use of <CODE>/usr/bin/pl</CODE>, which specifies the 
interpreter. This argument is ignored in the Windows version, but 
required to ensure best cross-platform compatibility.

<H4><A NAME="sec:2.10.2.2"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10.2.2</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Creating 
a shell-script</SPAN></A></H4>

<A NAME="sec:shellscript"></A>

<P>With the introduction of <EM>PrologScript</EM> (see <A class="sec" href="compilation.html">section 
2.10.2.1</A>), using shell-scripts as explained in this section has 
become redundant for most applications.

<P>Especially on Unix systems and not-too-large applications, writing a 
shell-script that simply loads your application and calls the 
entry-point is often a good choice. A skeleton for the script is given 
below, followed by the Prolog code to obtain the program arguments.

<PRE class="code">
#!/bin/sh

base=&lt;absolute-path-to-source&gt;
PL=pl

exec $PL -f none -g "load_files(['$base/load'],[silent(true)])" \
         -t go -- $*
</PRE>

<PRE class="code">
go :-
        current_prolog_flag(argv, Arguments),
        append(_SytemArgs, [--|Args], Arguments), !,
        go(Args).

go(Args) :-
        ...
</PRE>

<P>On Windows systems, similar behaviour can be achieved by creating a 
shortcut to Prolog, passing the proper options or writing a <CODE>.bat</CODE> 
file.

<H4><A NAME="sec:2.10.2.3"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10.2.3</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Creating 
a saved-state</SPAN></A></H4>

<A NAME="sec:makestate"></A>

<P>For larger programs, as well as for programs that are required to run 
on systems that do not have the SWI-Prolog development system installed, 
creating a saved state is the best solution. A saved state is created 
using <A NAME="idx:qsaveprogram12:106"></A><A class="pred" href="runtime.html#qsave_program/1">qsave_program/[1,2]</A> 
or using the linker plld(1). A saved state is a file containing 
machine-independent intermediate code in a format dedicated for fast 
loading. Optionally, the emulator may be integrated in the saved state, 
creating a single-file, but machine-dependent, executable. This process 
is described in <A class="sec" href="runtime.html">chapter 10</A>.

<H4><A NAME="sec:2.10.2.4"><SPAN class="sec-nr">2.10.2.4</SPAN> <SPAN class="sec-title">Compilation 
using the -c command-line option</SPAN></A></H4>

<A NAME="sec:cmdlinecomp"></A>

<P>This mechanism loads a series of Prolog source files and then creates 
a saved-state as <A NAME="idx:qsaveprogram2:107"></A><A class="pred" href="runtime.html#qsave_program/2">qsave_program/2</A> 
does. The command syntax is:

<PRE class="code">
% pl [option ...] [-o output] -c file ...
</PRE>

<P>The <VAR>options</VAR> argument are options to <A NAME="idx:qsaveprogram2:108"></A><A class="pred" href="runtime.html#qsave_program/2">qsave_program/2</A> 
written in the format below. The option-names and their values are 
described with
<A NAME="idx:qsaveprogram2:109"></A><A class="pred" href="runtime.html#qsave_program/2">qsave_program/2</A>.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<CODE>--</CODE><EM>option-name</EM><CODE>=</CODE><EM>option-value
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>For example, to create a stand-alone executable that starts by 
executing main/0 and for which the source is loaded through
<CODE>load.pl</CODE>, use the command

<PRE class="code">
% pl --goal=main --stand_alone=true -o myprog -c load.pl
</PRE>

<P>This performs exactly the same as executing

<PRE class="code">
% pl
&lt;banner&gt;
?- [load].
?- qsave_program(myprog,
                 [ goal(main),
                   stand_alone(true)
                 ]).
?- halt.
</PRE>

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