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The `koch`:idx: program is Nim's maintenance script. It is a replacement for make and shell scripting with the advantage that it is much more portable. The word koch means cook in German. `koch`:cmd: is used mainly to build the Nim compiler, but it can also be used for other tasks. This document describes the supported commands and their options.
The `boot`:idx: command bootstraps the compiler, and it accepts different options:
- -d:release By default a debug version is created, passing this option will
- force a release build, which is much faster and should be preferred unless you are debugging the compiler.
- -d:useLinenoise Use the linenoise library for interactive mode
- (not needed on Windows).
After compilation is finished you will hopefully end up with the nim
compiler in the bin directory. You can add Nim's bin directory to
your $PATH or use the install command to place it where it will be
found.
The `csource`:idx: command builds the C sources for installation. It accepts the same options as you would pass to the boot command.
The temp command builds the Nim compiler but with a different final name (`nim_temp`:cmd:), so it doesn't overwrite your normal compiler. You can use this command to test different options, the same you would issue for the boot command.
The `test`:idx: command can also be invoked with the alias `tests`:option:. This
command will compile and run testament/tester.nim, which is the main
driver of Nim's test suite. You can pass options to the `test`:option: command,
they will be forwarded to the tester. See its source code for available
options.
The `pdf`:idx: command builds PDF versions of Nim documentation: Manual, Tutorial and a few other documents. To run it one needs to install Latex/xelatex first.