Efficient generation of executable file from program files when some of the program files expressly incorporate other program files

Abstract

Efficient generation of executable file from program files when some of the program files expressly incorporate other program files. In an embodiment, dependency information representing which program files (conditionally or unconditionally) incorporate other program files is generated and stored in a secondary (non-volatile) storage. When some program files are modified, the dependency information is used to identify for recompilation all the program files that incorporate any of the modified program files. The modified program files and the identified program files are recompiled and the executable file is regenerated.

1 . A method of processing a set of program files implementing a user application, wherein each program file in said set of program files incorporates a corresponding subset of program files, each of said subset of program files being contained in said set of program files, said method comprising:
 parsing at least some of said set of program files to generate a dependency information associating each program to said corresponding subset of program files;   storing said dependency information in a secondary storage;   receiving from a user an identifier of a first program file contained in said set of program files;   retrieving said dependency information from said secondary storage;   identifying a second subset of program files based on said dependency information retrieved from said secondary storage, wherein said second subset of program files contains a subset of program files associated with said first program file according to said dependency information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a number of files in said second subset of program files, said number representing impact of change of said first program file in generating an executable file for said user application; and   displaying said number to said user.   
     
     
         3 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for causing a system to process a set of program files implementing a user application, wherein each program file in said set of program files incorporates a corresponding subset of program files, each of said subset of program files being contained in said set of program files, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said system causes said system to perform the actions of:
 parsing at least some of said set of program files to generate a dependency information associating each program to said corresponding subset of program files;   storing said dependency information in a secondary storage;   receiving from a user an identifiers of a first program file and a second program file contained in said set of program files;   retrieving said dependency information from said secondary storage;   identifying a first subset of program files required to be recompiled if said first program file were to be modified, and a second subset of program files required to be recompiled if said second program file were to be modified based on said dependency information retrieved from said secondary storage;   determining a first number of files in said first subset of program files and a second number of files in said second subset of program files, said first number and said second number respectively representing impact of modifying said first program file and said second program file in generating an executable file for said user application; and   displaying said first number and said second number to said user, thereby enabling said user to decide whether to modify said first program file or said second program file assuming either program file can be modified in future to achieve a given objective.   
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 3 , wherein said dependency information is represented as a hierarchy in which incorporating program files are represented as children of the incorporated program files such that said first subset of program files and said second subset of program files are respectively represented as children of said first program file and said second program file in said hierarchy,
 wherein said first number is the sum of said number of files in said first subset of program files and the number of children of each of said first subset of program files in said hierarchy and said second number is the sum of said number files in said second subset of program files and the number of children of each of said second subset of program files in said hierarchy.   
     
     
         5 . A digital processing system comprising:
 a processor;   a random access memory (RAM); and   a machine readable medium to store a set of instructions, which when retrieved into said RAM and executed by said processor is designed to cause said digital processing system to perform the actions of:
 receiving a set of program files implementing a user application, wherein each program file in said set of program files incorporates a corresponding subset of program files, each of said subset of program files being contained in said set of program files; 
 parsing at least some of said set of program files to generate a dependency information associating each program to said corresponding subset of program files, wherein said dependency information is represented as a hierarchy in which incorporating program files are represented as children of the incorporated program files such that said first subset of program files and said second subset of program files are respectively represented as children of said first program file and said second program file in said hierarchy; 
 storing said dependency information in a secondary storage; 
 receiving from a user identifiers of a first program file and a second program file contained in said set of program files; 
 retrieving said dependency information from said secondary storage; 
 identifying a first subset of program files required to be recompiled if said first program file were to be modified, and a second subset of program files required to be recompiled if said second program file were to be modified based on said dependency information retrieved from said secondary storage; 
 determining a first number of files in said first subset of program files and a second number of files in said second subset of program files, said first number and said second number respectively representing impact of modifying said first program file and said second program file in generating an executable file for said user application; and 
 displaying said first number and said second number to said user, thereby enabling said user to decide whether to modify said first program file or said second program file assuming either program file can be modified in future to achieve a given objective, 
 wherein said first number is the sum of said number of files in said first subset of program files and the number of children of each of said first subset of program files in said hierarchy and said second number is the sum of said number files in said second subset of program files and the number of children of each of said second subset of program files in said hierarchy.