vdl

Overview ¶

Command vdl manages Vanadium Definition Language source code. It's similar to the go tool used for managing Go source code.

Usage:

vdl [flags] <command>

The vdl commands are:

generate    Compile packages and dependencies, and generate code
compile     Compile packages and dependencies, but don't generate code
audit       Check if any packages are stale and need generation
list        List package and dependency info in transitive order
help        Display help for commands or topics

The vdl additional help topics are:

packages    Description of package lists
vdlpath     Description of VDLPATH environment variable
vdlroot     Description of VDLROOT environment variable
vdl.config  Description of vdl.config files

The vdl flags are:

-ignore_unknown=false
  Ignore unknown packages provided on the command line.
-max-errors=-1
  Stop processing after this many errors, or -1 for unlimited.
-v=false
  Turn on verbose logging.
-vdl.config=vdl.config
  Basename of the optional per-package config file.

The global flags are:

-metadata=<just specify -metadata to activate>
  Displays metadata for the program and exits.
-skip-go-methods=false
  Skip go generation of VDL{Read,Write,Zero} methods.
-time=false
  Dump timing information to stderr before exiting the program.

Vdl generate - Compile packages and dependencies, and generate code ¶

Generate compiles packages and their transitive dependencies, and generates code in the specified languages.

Usage:

vdl generate [flags] <packages>

<packages> are a list of packages to process, similar to the standard go tool. For more information, run "vdl help packages".

The vdl generate flags are:

-go-out-dir=
  Go output directory.  There are three modes:
     ""                     : Generate output in-place in the source tree
     "dir"                  : Generate output rooted at dir
     "src->dst[,s2->d2...]" : Generate output using translation rules
  Assume your source tree is organized as follows:
     VDLPATH=/home/vdl
        /home/vdl/test_base/base1.vdl
        /home/vdl/test_base/base2.vdl
  Here's example output under the different modes:
     --go-out-dir=""
        /home/vdl/test_base/base1.vdl.go
        /home/vdl/test_base/base2.vdl.go
     --go-out-dir="/tmp/foo"
        /tmp/foo/test_base/base1.vdl.go
        /tmp/foo/test_base/base2.vdl.go
     --go-out-dir="vdl->foo/bar"
        /home/foo/bar/test_base/base1.vdl.go
        /home/foo/bar/test_base/base2.vdl.go
  When the src->dst form is used, src must match the suffix of the path just
  before the package path, and dst is the replacement for src.  Use commas to
  separate multiple rules; the first rule matching src is used.  The special
  dst SKIP indicates matching packages are skipped.
-java-out-dir=release/go/src->release/java/lib/generated-src/vdl,roadmap/go/src->release/java/lib/generated-src/vdl
  Same semantics as --go-out-dir but applies to java code generation.
-java-out-pkg=v.io->io/v
  Java output package translation rules.  Must be of the form:
     "src->dst[,s2->d2...]"
  If a VDL package has a prefix src, the prefix will be replaced with dst.  Use
  commas to separate multiple rules; the first rule matching src is used, and
  if there are no matching rules, the package remains unchanged.  The special
  dst SKIP indicates those packages containing the string are skipped. Note
  this skip behavior is slightly different than the -out-dir semantics which is
  prefix-based.
-js-out-dir=release/go/src->release/javascript/core/src,roadmap/go/src->release/javascript/core/src,third_party/go/src->SKIP,tools/go/src->SKIP,release/go/src/v.io/v23/vdlroot->SKIP
  Same semantics as --go-out-dir but applies to js code generation.
-js-relative-path-to-core=
  If set, this is the relative path from js-out-dir to the root of the JS core
-lang=Go
  Comma-separated list of languages to generate, currently supporting
  Go,Java,Javascript,Swift
-show-warnings=true
  show warning messages
-status=true
  Show package names as they are updated
-swift-out-dir=release/go/src->release/swift/lib/generated-src/vdl,roadmap/go/src->release/swift/lib/generated-src/vdl
  Same semantics as --go-out-dir but applies to Swift code generation.
-swift-out-pkg=v.io/x->SKIP,/internal->SKIP,/testdata->SKIP,v.io/v23->
  Swift output package translation rules.  Must be of the form:
     "src->dst[,s2->d2...]"
  If a VDL package has a prefix src, the prefix will be replaced with dst.  Use
  commas to separate multiple rules; the first rule matching src is used, and
  if there are no matching rules, the package remains unchanged.  The special
  dst SKIP indicates those packages containing the string are skipped. Note
  this skip behavior is slightly different than the -out-dir semantics which is
  prefix-based.

-ignore_unknown=false
  Ignore unknown packages provided on the command line.
-max-errors=-1
  Stop processing after this many errors, or -1 for unlimited.
-v=false
  Turn on verbose logging.
-vdl.config=vdl.config
  Basename of the optional per-package config file.

Vdl compile ¶

Compile compiles packages and their transitive dependencies, but does not generate code. This is useful to sanity-check that your VDL files are valid.

Usage:

vdl compile [flags] <packages>

<packages> are a list of packages to process, similar to the standard go tool. For more information, run "vdl help packages".

The vdl compile flags are:

-show-warnings=true
  show warning messages
-status=true
  Show package names while we compile

-ignore_unknown=false
  Ignore unknown packages provided on the command line.
-max-errors=-1
  Stop processing after this many errors, or -1 for unlimited.
-v=false
  Turn on verbose logging.
-vdl.config=vdl.config
  Basename of the optional per-package config file.

Vdl audit - Check if any packages are stale and need generation ¶

Audit runs the same logic as generate, but doesn't write out generated files. Returns a 0 exit code if all packages are up-to-date, otherwise returns a non-0 exit code indicating some packages need generation.

Usage:

vdl audit [flags] <packages>

<packages> are a list of packages to process, similar to the standard go tool. For more information, run "vdl help packages".

The vdl audit flags are:

-go-out-dir=
  Go output directory.  There are three modes:
     ""                     : Generate output in-place in the source tree
     "dir"                  : Generate output rooted at dir
     "src->dst[,s2->d2...]" : Generate output using translation rules
  Assume your source tree is organized as follows:
     VDLPATH=/home/vdl
        /home/vdl/test_base/base1.vdl
        /home/vdl/test_base/base2.vdl
  Here's example output under the different modes:
     --go-out-dir=""
        /home/vdl/test_base/base1.vdl.go
        /home/vdl/test_base/base2.vdl.go
     --go-out-dir="/tmp/foo"
        /tmp/foo/test_base/base1.vdl.go
        /tmp/foo/test_base/base2.vdl.go
     --go-out-dir="vdl->foo/bar"
        /home/foo/bar/test_base/base1.vdl.go
        /home/foo/bar/test_base/base2.vdl.go
  When the src->dst form is used, src must match the suffix of the path just
  before the package path, and dst is the replacement for src.  Use commas to
  separate multiple rules; the first rule matching src is used.  The special
  dst SKIP indicates matching packages are skipped.
-java-out-dir=release/go/src->release/java/lib/generated-src/vdl,roadmap/go/src->release/java/lib/generated-src/vdl
  Same semantics as --go-out-dir but applies to java code generation.
-java-out-pkg=v.io->io/v
  Java output package translation rules.  Must be of the form:
     "src->dst[,s2->d2...]"
  If a VDL package has a prefix src, the prefix will be replaced with dst.  Use
  commas to separate multiple rules; the first rule matching src is used, and
  if there are no matching rules, the package remains unchanged.  The special
  dst SKIP indicates those packages containing the string are skipped. Note
  this skip behavior is slightly different than the -out-dir semantics which is
  prefix-based.
-js-out-dir=release/go/src->release/javascript/core/src,roadmap/go/src->release/javascript/core/src,third_party/go/src->SKIP,tools/go/src->SKIP,release/go/src/v.io/v23/vdlroot->SKIP
  Same semantics as --go-out-dir but applies to js code generation.
-js-relative-path-to-core=
  If set, this is the relative path from js-out-dir to the root of the JS core
-lang=Go
  Comma-separated list of languages to generate, currently supporting
  Go,Java,Javascript,Swift
-show-warnings=true
  show warning messages
-status=true
  Show package names as they are updated
-swift-out-dir=release/go/src->release/swift/lib/generated-src/vdl,roadmap/go/src->release/swift/lib/generated-src/vdl
  Same semantics as --go-out-dir but applies to Swift code generation.
-swift-out-pkg=v.io/x->SKIP,/internal->SKIP,/testdata->SKIP,v.io/v23->
  Swift output package translation rules.  Must be of the form:
     "src->dst[,s2->d2...]"
  If a VDL package has a prefix src, the prefix will be replaced with dst.  Use
  commas to separate multiple rules; the first rule matching src is used, and
  if there are no matching rules, the package remains unchanged.  The special
  dst SKIP indicates those packages containing the string are skipped. Note
  this skip behavior is slightly different than the -out-dir semantics which is
  prefix-based.

-ignore_unknown=false
  Ignore unknown packages provided on the command line.
-max-errors=-1
  Stop processing after this many errors, or -1 for unlimited.
-v=false
  Turn on verbose logging.
-vdl.config=vdl.config
  Basename of the optional per-package config file.

Vdl list - List package and dependency info in transitive order ¶

List returns information about packages and their transitive dependencies, in transitive order. This is the same order the generate and compile commands use for processing. If "vdl list A" is run and A depends on B, which depends on C, the returned order will be C, B, A. If multiple packages are specified the ordering is over all combined dependencies.

Reminder: cyclic dependencies between packages are not allowed. Cyclic dependencies between VDL files within the same package are also not allowed. This is more strict than regular Go; it makes it easier to generate code for other languages like C++.

Usage:

vdl list [flags] <packages>

<packages> are a list of packages to process, similar to the standard go tool. For more information, run "vdl help packages".

The vdl list flags are:

-ignore_unknown=false
  Ignore unknown packages provided on the command line.
-max-errors=-1
  Stop processing after this many errors, or -1 for unlimited.
-v=false
  Turn on verbose logging.
-vdl.config=vdl.config
  Basename of the optional per-package config file.

Vdl help - Display help for commands or topics ¶

Help with no args displays the usage of the parent command.

Help with args displays the usage of the specified sub-command or help topic.

"help ..." recursively displays help for all commands and topics.

Usage:

vdl help [flags] [command/topic ...]

[command/topic ...] optionally identifies a specific sub-command or help topic.

The vdl help flags are:

-style=compact
  The formatting style for help output:
     compact   - Good for compact cmdline output.
     full      - Good for cmdline output, shows all global flags.
     godoc     - Good for godoc processing.
     shortonly - Only output short description.
  Override the default by setting the CMDLINE_STYLE environment variable.
-width=<terminal width>
  Format output to this target width in runes, or unlimited if width < 0.
  Defaults to the terminal width if available.  Override the default by setting
  the CMDLINE_WIDTH environment variable.

Vdl packages - Description of package lists ¶

Most vdl commands apply to a list of packages:

vdl command <packages>

<packages> are a list of packages to process, similar to the standard go tool. In its simplest form each package is an import path; e.g.

"v.io/x/ref/lib/vdl"

A package that is an absolute path or that begins with a . or .. element is interpreted as a file system path, and denotes the package in that directory.

A package is a pattern if it includes one or more "..." wildcards, each of which can match any string, including the empty string and strings containing slashes. Such a pattern expands to all packages found in VDLPATH with names matching the pattern. As a special-case, x/... matches x as well as x's subdirectories.

The special-case "all" is a synonym for "...", and denotes all packages found in VDLPATH.

Import path elements and file names are not allowed to begin with "." or "_"; such paths are ignored in wildcard matches, and return errors if specified explicitly.

VDLPATH requires *.vdl source files and packages to appear directly under the VDLPATH directories. Note that when go modules are used VDLPATH should point to the location of the go.mod file. Also note that whereas GOPATH requires *.go source files and packages to appear under a "src" directory, VDLPATH requires *.vdl source files and packages to appear directly under the VDLPATH directories.

Run "vdl help vdlpath" to see docs on VDLPATH.
Run "go help packages" to see the standard go package docs.

Vdl vdlpath - Description of VDLPATH environment variable ¶

The VDLPATH environment variable is used to resolve import statements. It must be set to compile and generate vdl packages.

The format is a colon-separated list of directories containing vdl source code. These directories are searched recursively for VDL source files. The path below the directory determines the import path. If VDLPATH specifies multiple directories, imports are resolved by picking the first directory with a matching import name.

An example:

VDPATH=/home/user/vdlA:/home/user/vdlB

/home/user/vdlA
    foo/                 (import "foo" refers here)
        foo1.vdl
/home/user/vdlB
    foo/                 (this package is ignored)
       foo2.vdl
    bar/
       baz/              (import "bar/baz" refers here)
          baz.vdl

Vdl vdlroot - Description of VDLROOT environment variable ¶

The VDLROOT environment variable is similar to VDLPATH, but instead of pointing to multiple user source directories, it points at a single source directory containing the standard vdl packages.

If VDLROOT is empty, we use the standard packages built-in to the vdl binary. VDLROOT is typically left empty, except by vdl tool developers.

Vdl vdl.config - Description of vdl.config files ¶

Each vdl source package P may contain an optional file "vdl.config" within the P directory. This file specifies additional configuration for the vdl tool.

The format of this file is described by the vdltool.Config type in the "vdltool" standard package, located at VDLROOT/vdltool/config.vdl.

If the file does not exist, we use the zero value of vdl.Config.