BlitzBuild is currently available as a binary release in a standard zip file or as an installer.
The installer is the easiest way to install BlitzBuild as it sets up the path variables for you.
Extract the contents of the BlitzBuild zip to a directory.
[Optional Step] Add the newly created directory to your Windows PATH variable. (How do I do this?)
Before BlitzBuild can compile applications, you will need to set-up the configuration file called "config.xml". It comes with BlitzPlus and Blitz3D paths already entered, but if your Blitz installations live somewhere other than "c:\program files\" you will need to edit the file.
Once the software has been installed, you can start running build scripts. A build script is an XML file that contains a list of commands to be run. Build scripts are broken into "targets", which are made up of "tasks". Targets are used to break a build file into easy to read chunks, and also to allow a single build file to be capable of carrying out many different tasks.
Each build script must contain:
A valid XML header.
A project node containing with the project's name and the name of the default target.
At least one build target.
To run this script:
Open a command prompt (Start -> Run -> "cmd")
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Type the following (assuming the Blitzbuild directory was added to the Windows path):
BlitzBuild /f my-file.xml /prop:my-property=property-value /prop:someOtherProperty="A value with spaces"
This will tell BlitzBuild to execute the build file using the default target. If BlitzBuild was installed correctly, the following output will be displayed:
More examples are provided in the "Examples" folder of the distribution.
Quick overview of command line switches and parameters.
Command Line Switches
- /f or /file-name
The name of the build file to run. If this is not specified, BlitzBuild will search the current directory for files named "build.xml"
- /t or /target
The target in the build file to execute. If none specified, BlitzBuild will run the default target as defined in the project tag.
- /prop:name=value
-
Sets a global property that can be accessed from the build script. Property names and values may contain spaces, but should be enclosed inside quotation (") marks.
Example:
BlitzBuild /f my-file.xml /prop:my-property=property-value /prop:someOtherProperty="A value with spaces"