The pretty printer module

To compile the module generated for the basic pretty printer, we rely on a Buildfile to direct the compilation from unix, as we did for Metal. We suppose that the Buildfile has been generated by centaur-language.

Typing ctmake in the directory containing Exp-basic.ppml compiles this file into a Le-Lisp module if necessary, then compiles the module. We suggest that you only compile a module once the pretty printer specification has stabilized. Use the interpreted version during development.

N.B.

• When you compile a Ppml program from Centaur, Centaur reloads the module automatically when the pretty printer is next used. The interpreted module is loaded if the pretty printer's Mode property value is interp. If a compiled module exists and the Mode property value is compiled, the compiled module is loaded.
• If you compile the generated module from unix, Centaur doesn't know about the modification. In this case, you must reload the pretty printer by hand by clicking on the button of the main menu's Load pulldown. It is loaded according to the Mode property value.

Since we will continue to develop the pretty printer, we prefer to always load the interpreted module. Make sure the following resource appears in the file: contrib/Exp/pprinters/basic/basic.rdb

Centaur.Exp.ppml.basic.Mode : interp

Don't forget to reset the resource manager by clicking on the button. When you are ready to used the compiled version of the pretty printer module, switch the value from interp to compiled.

Now we extend our pretty printer with more utilities offered by the Ppml language.