DMD Compiler for
- Requirements and Downloads
- Files
- Installation
- Compiler Arguments and Switches
- Linking
- Environment Variables
- Differences between Windows and Linux versions
- D Interface Files
- Building Libraries
- Compiling dmd
- Compiling Phobos
Requirements and Downloads
Files
- srcphobos
- D runtime library source
- srcdmd
- D compiler front end source under dual (GPL and Artistic) license
- htmld
- Documentation
- samplesd
- Sample D programs
Installation
Compiler Arguments and Switches
- dmd files... -switches...
- files...
-
File Extensions Extension File Type none D source files .d D source files .dd Ddoc source files .di D interface files . Object files to link in . Object code libraries to search - @cmdfile
- If cmdfile is an environment variable, read the compiler arguments and switches from the value of that variable. Otherwise, read compiler arguments and switches from the text file cmdfile
- -c
- compile only, do not link
- -cov
- instrument for code coverage analysis
- -D
- generate documentation from source
- -Dddocdir
- write documentation file to docdir directory
- -Dffilename
- write documentation file to filename
- -d
- allow deprecated features
- -debug
- compile in debug code
- -debug=level
- compile in debug level <= level
- -debug=ident
- compile in debug identifier ident
- -debuglib=libname
- link in libname as the default library when compiling for symbolic debugging instead of
- -defaultlib=libname
- link in libname as the default library when not compiling for symbolic debugging instead of
- -deps=filename
- write module dependencies as text to filename
- -g
- -gc
- -gs
- always generate standard stack frame
- -H
- generate D interface file
- -Hddir
- write D interface file to dir directory
- -Hffilename
- write D interface file to filename
- --help
- print brief help to console
- -Ipath
- where to look for imports. path is a ; separated list of paths. Multiple -I's can be used, and the paths are searched in the same order.
- -ignore
- ignore unsupported pragmas
- -inline
- inline expand functions at the discretion of the compiler. This can improve performance, at the expense of making it more difficult to use a debugger on it.
- -Jpath
- where to look for files for ImportExpressions. This switch is required in order to use ImportExpressions. path is a ; separated list of paths. Multiple -J's can be used, and the paths are searched in the same order.
- -Llinkerflag
- pass linkerflag to the , for example,
- -lib
- generate library file as output instead of object file(s). All compiled source files, as well as object files and library files specified on the command line, are inserted into the output library. Compiled source modules may be partitioned into several object modules to improve granularity. The name of the library is taken from the name of the first source module to be compiled. This can be overridden with the -of switch.
- -man
- -map
- generate a .map file
- -noboundscheck
- turns off all array bounds checking, even for safe functions
- -O
- Optimize generated code. For fastest executables, compile with the -O -release -inline switches together.
- -o-
- Suppress generation of object file. Useful in conjuction with -D or -H flags.
- -odobjdir
-
- write object files relative to directory objdir instead of to the current directory
- -offilename
- Set output file name to filename in the output directory. The output file can be an object file, executable file, or library file depending on the other switches.
- -op
- normally the path for .d source files is stripped off when generating an object file name. -op will leave it on.
- -profile
- profile the runtime performance of the generated code
- -property
- enforce use of @property on property functions
- -quiet
- suppress non-essential compiler messages
- -release
- compile release version, which means not generating code for contracts and asserts. Array bounds checking is not done for system and trusted functions.
- -run srcfile args... compile
- link, and run the program srcfile with the rest of the command line, args..., as the arguments to the program. No . or executable file is left behind.
- -unittest
- compile in unittest code, turns on asserts, and sets the unittest version identifier
- -v
- verbose
- -version=level
- compile in version level >= level
- -version=ident
- compile in version identifier ident
- -vtls
- print informational messages identifying variables defaulting to thread local storage. Handy for migrating to shared model.
- -w
- enable warnings
- -wi
- enable informational warnings (i.e. compilation still proceeds normally)
- -X
- generate JSON file
- -Xffilename
- write JSON file to filename
Linking
Linking is done directly by the dmd compiler after a successful compile. To prevent dmd from running the linker, use the -c switch.
Environment Variables
The D compiler dmd uses the following environment variables:
Differences between Windows and Linux versions
- String literals are read-only under Linux. Attempting to write to them will cause a segment violation.
D Interface Files
When an import declaration is processed in a D source file, the compiler searches for the D source file corresponding to the import, and processes that source file to extract the information needed from it. Alternatively, the compiler can instead look for a corresponding D interface file. A D interface file contains only what an import of the module needs, rather than the whole implementation of that module.
The advantages of using a D interface file for imports rather than a D source file are:
- D interface files are often significantly smaller and much faster to process than the corresponding D source file.
- They can be used to hide the source code, for example, one can ship an object code library along with D interface files rather than the complete source code.
D interface files can be created by the compiler from a D source file by using the -H switch to the compiler. D interface files have the .di file extension. When the compiler resolves an import declaration, it first looks for a .di D interface file, then it looks for a D source file.
D interface files bear some analogous similarities to C++ header files. But they are not required in the way that C++ header files are, and they are not part of the D language. They are a feature of the compiler, and serve only as an optimization of the build process.
Building Executables
dmd can build an executable much faster if as many of the source files as possible are put on the command line.
Another advantage to putting multiple source files on the same invocation of dmd is that dmd will be able to do some level of cross-module optimizations, such as function inlining across modules.
Building Libraries
There are three ways to build a library. For example, given foo.d and bar.d which are to be compiled, and existing object file bar. and existing library def. which are all to be combined into a library foo.:
- Compile modules separately and then run the librarian on them: This option is typical when using a makefile to avoid compiling modules that have already been compiled.
- Compile modules together and then run the librarian on them:
- Use dmd to compile and build library in one operation:
dmd -lib foo.d bar.d abc. def.No object files are written to disk, it's all done in memory. Using -lib also has the advantage that modules may be compiled into multiple object files rather than exactly one per module. This improves granularity of the library without having to break up the modules.
Compiling dmd
Complete source code is provided to build the compiler. Follow these steps:
Compiling Phobos
Complete source code is provided to build Phobos, the D runtime library. Follow these steps: