Code Generation Configurator

When output has to be generated, either by exporting DDL SQL scripts or by selecting Project -> Generate Source-code from the main menu or by pressing F7, the Code Generation Configurator dialog is opened. This dialog consists of three tabs which each allow you to define / tweak a different part of the code generation process:

• General Settings. This tab contains the information and selectors for the target language, target platform, root namespace, which template group to use and the root folder in which the output will be placed.
• Template bindings. This tab contains the template binding files and their current order. Template bindings bind a physical file to a TemplateID. A TemplateID is used by the code generators to select which template to use. You can bind multiple files to the same TemplateID, the one which is not overruled by a different binding due to the order of the template bindings on the Template bindings tab is chosen. Which target platform and which target framework is used in the project determine which template bindings are available.
• Task queue to execute. This tab contains the preset with the run queue of tasks to execute. Based on the selected template group, target platform and target framework, a set of presets is available to you to select from. You can also create your own presets with tasks and alter existing presets to meet your needs. Each task in a preset can be edited.

Code generation configuration workflow

The workflow is as follows:

The code generation configuration workflow

Each box influences how the next one behaves and which information is available in that following box. You start with the General Settings tab, and then move on to the Template bindings tab, and after that to the Task queue to execute tab. When you're done configuring, you click one of the two Start generator buttons. In general you should use the Start generator (normal) button, unless you're testing your own template code and have placed a Debugger.Break() statement in the templates. To make LLBLGen Pro compile the templates with debug information so you can attach a debugger, click the Start generator (debug) button instead.

When a code generation cycle is started by clicking the Start generator button, all settings you've specified in this dialog are preserved inside the project. If you want to re-use these settings when you have to re-generate the code, it's key to save your project after you've generated code.