Using the C Wrapper in Command-line Mode

Commands are available to generate an RPC client or RPC server from a specified IDL file. This document covers the following topics:

Command-line Options

See Using the EntireX Workbench in Command-line Mode for the general command-line syntax. The table below shows the command-line options for the C Wrapper if the Workbench is used. Default values are underlined.

Task Command Option Value Description
Generate RPC client from the specified IDL file. -c:client -DATA_CONV_NP 0 | 1 Mapping of IDL type P, PU, N and NU fields.
0 The IDL data types are mapped to C data type unsigned char[..] with packed or unpacked (mainframe Natural, COBOL, PL/I style) contents.
1 The IDL data types are mapped to C data type double.
See Mapping Options for more information.
-DATA_CONV_A 0 | 1 Mapping of IDL type A fields.
0 Map IDL data type A to the C data type unsigned char[..] without null termination (mainframe Natural, COBOL, PL/I style).
1 Map IDL data type A to C style strings.
See Mapping Options for more information.
-DATA_CONV_U 0 | 1 Mapping of IDL type U fields.
0 Map IDL data type U to the C data type unsigned wchar_t[..] without null termination (mainframe Natural, COBOL, PL/I style).
1 Map IDL data type U to wide char strings.
See Mapping Options for more information.
-DATA_CONTEXT 0 | 1 Multithread client.
0 Off. The generated client interface objects can be used in single-threaded client environments.
1 On. The generated client interface objects are thread-safe and can be used in multithreaded client environments.
See Generate RPC Client for more information.
-help   Display this usage message.
Generate RPC server from the specified IDL file. -c:server -DATA_CONV_NP 0 | 1 Mapping of IDL type N, P, NU and PU fields, for more information see above.
-DATA_CONV_A 0 | 1 Mapping of IDL type A fields, for more information see above.
-DATA_CONV_U 0 | 1 Mapping of IDL type U fields, for more information see above.
-help   Display this usage message.

Note:
The commands "-C:Generate client" and "-C:Generate server" are deprecated. Use -c:client and -c:server instead.

Example Generating an RPC Client

<workbench> -c:client /Demo/example.idl -DATA_CONV_A 1

where <workbench> is a placeholder for the actual Workbench starter as described under Using the EntireX Workbench in Command-line Mode.

The generated C source files (client interface object and its associated header file)

  • will be stored in parallel to the IDL file, for example in project Demo.

  • will overwrite existing files from a previous command-line mode generation.

Example Generating an RPC Server

<workbench> -c:server /Demo/example.idl -DATA_CONV_A 1

where <workbench> is a placeholder for the actual Workbench starter as described under Using the EntireX Workbench in Command-line Mode.

The generated C source files (server interface object and its associated header file)

  • will be stored in parallel to the IDL file, for example in project Demo

  • will overwrite existing files from a previous command-line mode generation.

    ../graphics/warning.png Warning:
    Take care not to overwrite an existing server implementation with a server skeleton.
    We recommend you move your server implementation to a different folder, or
    rename the server implementation.

Further Examples

Windows

Example 1

<workbench> -c:client C:\Temp\example.idl

Uses the IDL file C:\Temp\example.idl and generates the C source files (CEXAMPLE.c and CEXAMPLE.h) in parallel to the IDL file. Slashes and backslashes are permitted in the file name. Output to standard output: 

Using workspace file:/C:/myWorkspace/.
Exit value: 0

Example 2

<workbench> -c:client -help

or

<workbench> -help -c:client

Both show a short help for the C Wrapper.

Linux

Example 1

<workbench> -c:client /Demo/example.idl

If the project Demo exists in the workspace and example.idl exists in this project, this file is used. Otherwise, /Demo/example.idl is used from file system. The generated output (CEXAMPLE.c and CEXAMPLE.h) will be stored in /Demo, parallel to the IDL file.

Example 2

<workbench> -c:client -help

or

<workbench> -help -c:client

Both show a short help for the C Wrapper.