Implementing your packaging model
When you have decided which is the appropriate packaging model for
your application, you can use the packaging facilities in PowerBuilder
to implement it. For the most part, this involves working in the Project
painter. You can use the Project painter to build components, proxy
libraries, and HTML files as well as executable applications.
Using the Project painter for executable
applications
The Project painter for executable applications orchestrates all
aspects of the packaging job by enabling you to:
-
Specify the executable file to create
-
Specify any dynamic libraries (DLL or PBD files) to
create -
Specify the resources you want included in the executable file
or in each particular dynamic library (by using appropriate PBR
files that indicate where to get those resources) -
Choose machine code or Pcode as the compiler format to
generateWith machine code, you can also specify a variety of code
generation options (such as optimization, trace information, and
error context information). -
Choose build options, including whether you want the Project
painter to do a full or incremental rebuild of your application’s
objects when generating the executable application -
Save all of these specifications as a project object that you
can use whenever necessary to rebuild the whole package
For more information on using the Project painter, see the section called “Using the Project painter” in Users Guide.
Building individual dynamic
libraries
When you make revisions to an existing application, your changes
might not affect all its dynamic libraries. You can rebuild individual
dynamic libraries from the pop-up menu in the System Tree or the Library
painter.
If changes are isolated and do not affect inherited objects in
other PBLs, you might be able to distribute individual PBDs to your
users to provide an upgrade or bug fix. However, Appeon recommends that
you always perform a full rebuild and distribute the executable file and
all the application’s dynamic libraries whenever you revise an
application.