fileconst

= fileconst

Turns text file contents into Go constants

When you're writing code that includes text constants for SQL or other
structured text as constants, you don't get the benefit of your IDE or
text editors syntax high-lighting.  This program simply reads the
contents of one or more text files and generates a file (per package)
that contains constants assigned to these constants.

== Installation

Install this package from source using the following command:

[source, bash, indent=4]
----
go install -v github.com/PennState/fileconst/cmd/fileconst@<version>
----

== Usage

There are a couple conventions used to make this processing easier:

* The filename becomes the constant name
* The (Go single-line style) top-of-block comment in the file becomes
  the top-of-block comment for the resulting constant.

Once you've installed `fileconst`, add the following Go directive

[source, go, indent=4]
----
//go:generate fileconst -dir ./sql -ext sql
----

This command indicates that all files with the extension `sql` in the
subdirectory `./sql` should be converted into Go constants.  If your
package has a `doc.go` file that's an ideal spot to add this directive.
the resulting Go file will be placed in the package's directory and will
be named `fileconst_gen.go`.