Class

Task

Extends:

A Task is the basic unit of work in a Rakefile. Tasks have associated actions (possibly more than one) and a list of prerequisites. When invoked, a task will first ensure that all of its prerequisites have an opportunity to run and then it will execute its own actions.

Tasks are not usually created directly using the new method, but rather use the file and task convenience methods.

Public Attributes
application Application owning this task.
comment Comment for this task. Restricted to a single line of no more than 50 characters.
full_comment Full text of the (possibly multi-line) comment.
prerequisites List of prerequisites for a task.
scope Array of nested namespaces names used for task lookup by this task.
sources List of sources for task.
Public Methods
[] Return a task with the given name. If the task is not currently known, try to synthesize one from the defined rules. If no rules are found, but an existing file matches the task name, assume it is a file task with no dependencies or actions.
add_description Add a description to the task. The description can consist of an option argument list (enclosed brackets) and an optional comment.
arg_description Argument description (nil if none).
arg_names Name of arguments for this task.
clear Clear the task list. This cause rake to immediately forget all the tasks that have been assigned. (Normally used in the unit tests.)
comment= Writing to the comment attribute is the same as adding a description.
create_rule Define a rule for synthesizing tasks.
define_task Define a task given args and an option block. If a rule with the given name already exists, the prerequisites and actions are added to the existing task. Returns the defined task.
enhance Enhance a task with prerequisites or actions. Returns self.
execute Execute the actions associated with this task.
inspect
investigation Return a string describing the internal state of a task. Useful for debugging.
invoke Invoke the task if it is needed. Prerequites are invoked first.
invoke_prerequisites Invoke all the prerequisites of a task.
name Name of the task, including any namespace qualifiers.
name_with_args Name of task with argument list description.
needed? Is this task needed?
new Create a task named task_name with no actions or prerequisites. Use enhance to add actions and prerequisites.
scope_name Apply the scope to the task name according to the rules for this kind of task. Generic tasks will accept the scope as part of the name.
set_arg_names Set the names of the arguments for this task. args should be an array of symbols, one for each argument name.
source First source from a rule (nil if no sources)
sources
task_defined? TRUE if the task name is already defined.
tasks List of all defined tasks.
timestamp Timestamp for this task. Basic tasks return the current time for their time stamp. Other tasks can be more sophisticated.
to_s Return task name
Protected Methods
invoke_with_call_chain Same as invoke, but explicitly pass a call chain to detect circular dependencies.
Private Methods
add_comment Add a comment to the task. If a comment alread exists, separate the new comment with " / ".
format_trace_flags Format the trace flags for display.
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