I am aware that you can use Visual Studio 2019 to manage and compile projects using File > New > Project then select 'Empty Project'. Add your sources to the project then open the Terminal using View > Terminal and enter make, make clean, make debug, etc (If anyone can tell me what make gfx does I am interested).

If this is the way you like to do things you can do this almost exactly the same way using CodeBlocks. CodeBlocks doesn't have a 'Terminal' menu item so you can add it. Select Tools > Configure tools then [Add], Name: Terminal, Executable cmd.exe then [OK].

To use CodeBlocks to manage and compile projects follow the same steps as with VS. File > New > Project then select 'Empty Project'. Add your sources to the project then open the Terminal using Tools > Terminal and enter the commands.

My previous post (see Computer & Mobile > C and C++ > CE C Toolchain using an IDE) integrates the CE C Toolchain into CodeBlocks so you don't have to bother using the Terminal or enter commands. To compile just press 'Ctrl-F9' to clean then compile (rebuild) just press 'Ctrl-F11' and to create a debug version just change from 'Release' to 'Debug' and compile or rebuild. Additionally, the build log will appear in the build log tab just as it does in the Terminal.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

It creates (or updates) the C files, header files, and pallette (C and header file) for sprites and/or tilemaps. It's important that you use it every time you change a sprite and/or tilemap.

Thanks for replying. I did not know that. If you don't mind could you explain to me why you need to do this and why is it separate from the regular compiling process.

And as long as I'm on the subject of makefiles, I noticed somewhere in the Toolchain documentation that it specifically says that if you want to create debugging code you need to change NDEBUG to DEBUG. I don't see why that is necessary. The makefile itself already sets NDEBUG if just 'make' is invoked or DEBUG if 'make debug' is invoked. I have the felling that this is old documentation and is no longer correct or am I wrong?

The reason is because the makefile has no way to automatically infer what image files are used for compiling -- all the command does is call convimg to convert the files. Conversion of image files isn't done all too often anyway; so it doesn't make sense to run it every single time unless it is needed.


Prove it. I have never said that nor will I ever say that. You must be reading someone else's incorrect advice that is not a part of the official documentation haha.

That makes sense.


Great! I though it wasn't necessary. But it isn't that unusual for me to not know what I'm talking about so I thought it best to check. I don't recall where I read it and I have not been able to find it again.

By the way, since you're here I would like to say this about the makefiles. I would like to point out to everyone else who has not yet read them that they are quite good and they should read them, they will learn a lot.