Source File Compilation

Purpose

The source file compilation stage is the core of the build process. It compiles source files (.erl, .yrl, .xrl, .mib, etc.) into their target artifacts (.beam, .bin, .hrl), managing dependencies between files, determining what needs recompilation, executing compilers in the correct order, supporting parallel compilation where possible, and tracking compiled artifacts for incremental builds.

When It Executes

This stage executes within rebar_prv_compile after application discovery and ordering:

1. Dependency Compilation: copy_and_build_deps/4 compiles all dependencies
2. Project App Compilation: copy_and_build_project_apps/3 compiles project applications
3. Root Extras Compilation: build_root_extras/2 compiles extra source directories

Within each context, the compile/4 function orchestrates multiple sub-stages.

Prerequisites

• Applications discovered and ordered
• Dependencies fetched and ready
• Output directories created
• Code paths configured
• DAGs (Dependency Graphs) initialized for each compiler

Outputs

• Compiled .beam files in ebin/ directories
• Generated header files (.hrl from .yrl, .mib)
• Generated source files (.erl from .yrl, .xrl)
• Updated DAGs with artifact metadata and timestamps
• Code available for subsequent compilation stages