Code Generation Configurator, Task Queue to Execute Tab (advanced view)

The Task queue to execute tab is the tab where you select and define the different tasks which should be executed during code generation. This tab is only visible when Advanced... is clicked on the General Settings tab. At the top of the Task queue to execute tab, you're able to select your preset of choice. A preset, is a definition of a run queue, with tasks and task groups in the right order, with the right values for the task parameters. The preset chosen here is the same as the one chosen on the General Settings Tab. Changing the preset selection on this tab will also change it on the General Settings Tab as it reflects the same preset chosen.

You can create new presets if you like, by simply clicking the New... button or by changing an existing preset and then by clicking the Save As... button to save it under a different name. The shipped presets are sealed. This means that LLBLGen Pro doesn't let you alter them through the GUI to avoid you overwriting the shipped presets by mistake.

Task / Task group basics

When you select a task group in the run queue (task groups have a blue color and a different icon, and are used to group tasks together), you'll see the Selected task / task group information below the run queue. This area allows you to specify additional parameters for the selected task or task group. Which elements are editable for a task or task group is described below.

Editable task group information

The following elements are available for the task group:

General Information:

• Is Enabled. if checked, the task group is considered for execution, if unchecked, the task group is ignored.
• Display name. The display name is the name specified in the run queue tree and which could help you understand better which tasks do what exactly if you for example add multiple times the same task but with different parameters. To change the display name for a task or task group, you can also select it in the run queue tree and press F2.
• Run for database. To specify that a task or task group should run for all databases found in the Relational Model Data, or just for a specific database, this setting is used. By default the setting is empty, which means the task / task group will run once.
• Requires clean cache. This checkbox allows you to specify whether the task cache should be cleared (checked) at the start of the task group. Code generators store the files they create in the task cache, so the VS.NET project task performer can read them and place all files in the VS.NET project file. To make sure you only get the files created from a given Task group, check this checkbox. For example, if you want to generate two separate VS.NET project files, the task group which contains the tasks for  the files of the second VS.NET project, has to have this checkbox checked.
• Perform rule. This allows you to specify based on which target framework specific setting (See: Project Settings Editor, Output Setting Values) at the project level the task or task group should be run or not. If the rule is disabled (checkbox is unchecked) or when the rule resolves to true, the task or task group is executed, otherwise the task group or task is ignored. For boolean settings, specify true or false.

Additional Parameters:

• Additional root namespace as suffix for the already known root namespace. This information is stored inside the preset and nested groups will use the information of their parents.
• Additional desitional folder as suffix for the already known destination folder. This information is stored inside the preset and nested groups will use the information of their parents.

Editable task information

The following elements are available for the task:

General Information:

• Is Enabled.. if checked, the task is considered for execution, if unchecked, the task group is ignored.
• Display name.. The display name is the name specified in the run queue tree. To change the display name for a task, you can also select it in the run queue tree and press F2.
• Run for database.. To specify that a task should run for all databases found in the Relational Model Data, or just for a specific database, this setting is used. By default the setting is empty, which means the task / task group will run once.
• Perform rule. This allows you to specify based on which target framework specific setting (See: Project Settings Editor, Output Setting Values) at the project level the task should be run or not. If the rule is disabled (checkbox is unchecked) or when the rule resolves to true, the task is executed, otherwise the task is ignored. For boolean settings, specify true or false.

Task Performer Parameters
By selecting a task in the run queue you can change its parameters in the Selected task information. Which parameters are available depends on the task and the associated Task performer class. You can see which task performer class is associated with a task by expanding the task node in the run queue. In general you don't need to alter parameters, or add tasks to use LLBLGen Pro as the shipped presets are enough to generate code. Most task parameters are straight forward. When you select a parameter in the Parameters grid, the bottom Description area shows the description of the selected parameter so you know what to specify as a value.

Modifying the Run queue / Preset

The run queue, the queue of tasks which will be executed when you click Start generator, enlists the tasks in a top-down fashion so the tasks at the top of the queue will be executed first. There are several ways to change the run queue of a given preset. First of all, you can add new tasks or task groups to the run queue. To do so, first select the task or task group in the run queue which will mark the position where the newly added tasks will be inserted. Then you click the Add Tasks button. This will bring up the task picker with all tasks and task groups available for the target framework and .NET version chosen. Check the checkboxes of all tasks / task groups you want to insert. The tasks will be added with their default parameters. You might want to alter these, please see 'Task Performer Parameters' above for details on that.

To remove a task or task group, select the task or task group to remove in the run queue tree and then click the Remove button. An alternative to removing a task is disabling a task by unchecking its Is Enabled checkbox. To change the order in which tasks are executed, you can use the Move up and Move down buttons. These work on the selected task or taskgroup.

To merge another preset with the one loaded in the run queue, at the spot currently selected, click the Merge preset button. A dialog will pop up with a drop-down list with all the presets you can merge at that spot. By clicking OK, the preset you've selected will be merged at the spot you had selected in the run queue. Merge preset is a quick way to create copies of presets.