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Determines whether dBASE Plus automatically compiles a program, procedure, or format file when you change the file and then execute it or open it for execution.

Syntax

SET DEVELOPMENT ON | off

Default

The default for SET DEVELOPMENT is ON. To change the default, set the DEVELOPMENT parameter in PLUS.ini. To do so, either use the SET command to specify the "Ensure Compilation" setting interactively, or enter the DEVELOPMENT parameter directly in PLUS.ini.

Description

When SET DEVELOPMENT is ON and you execute a program file with DO, or open a procedure or format file, dBASE Plus compares the time and date stamp of the source file and the compiled file. If the source file has a later time and date stamp than the compiled file, dBASE Plus recompiles the file.

When SET DEVELOPMENT is ON and you change a source program, procedure, or format file with MODIFY COMMAND, dBASE Plus erases the corresponding compiled file. When you then execute the program or open the procedure or format file, dBASE Plus recompiles it.

When SET DEVELOPMENT is OFF, dBASE Plus doesn't compare time and date stamps, and executes or opens existing compiled program, procedure, or format files. When you modify a source file and then open or execute it, dBASE Plus first looks for a compiled file in memory and executes it if found. If no compiled file is in memory, dBASE Plus looks for a compiled disk file and executes it if found. If no compiled file is found, dBASE Plus compiles the file.

When you DO a program, open a procedure file with SET PROCEDURE, or open a format file with SET FORMAT, dBASE Plus always looks for, opens, and executes a compiled file. Therefore, if dBASE Plus can't find a compiled version of a source file when you execute or open the source, dBASE Plus compiles the file regardless of the SET DEVELOPMENT setting.

During program development, when you're editing files often, you should turn SET DEVELOPMENT ON. This ensures that you're always executing an up-to-date compiled file.

Turn SET DEVELOPMENT OFF when you no longer plan to change any source code. Turning SET DEVELOPMENT OFF speeds up program execution because dBASE Plus doesn't have to check time and date stamps. You might want to set the DEVELOPMENT parameter to OFF in the PLUS.ini file you distribute with your compiled code.