VipLaunch

vipLaunch is a utility for launching projects, solutions and com import descriptions in the correct version of the IDE, solution manager and comWrapper, respectively.

Since Visual Prolog 11 vipLaunch is installed automatically together with the installation of Visual Prolog itself. But you can also install the latest version directly here vipLaunch installer.

vipLaunch is registered as the "open" handler for the following filetypes (extensions):

• .vipprj: Visual Prolog projects, which are opened in an IDE
• .vipsln: Visual Prolog sulution files, which are opened in a Solution Manager
• .vipcom: Visual PRolog com import descriptions, which are opened in a comWrapper
• .pro, .cl, .i, . pack & .ph: Visual Prolog source files, which are opened in an editor in an IDE

The tree first kinds (.vipprj, .vipsln and .vipcom) can be marked with a vipId which is used to locate the correct tool to open.

For the sake of the description we will here consider project files (.vipprj) and the IDE. The other two file types follows the same principle.

When you double click a project file (.vipprj file) the vipLaunch program will be invoked. It will then inspect the project file for a vipId.

If there is no vipId in the file vipLaunch will present a window like this:

A vipId can identify a version for example version 10. When vipLaunch is invoked on a .vipprj with such a vipId it will open an IDE with that version. This obviously requires that can locate such an IDE. vipLaunch will search for Visual Prolog versions which are installed in usual installation directories (i.e. ...\Program Files (x86) and ...\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Visual Prolog). If you have installations in unusual places you can search for them by pressing the magnifying glass icon and browse to the location.

In the image above Visual Prolog 8, 9, 10 and 11 appear as regular installations. In the case above vipLaunch has also located an installation up-relative to the project location (more on that below). If you select the version you want to use and press the Visual Prolog icon the correcponding IDE will open. If you press the pin icon the corresponding IDE will also open, but further more the project file will be marked with the vipId which is listed in the first column.

When double clicking a project which has a vipId mark vipLaunch will locate the installation correcponding to the vipId and launch that IDE. If it cannot locate the installation the window will from above will appear giving you the choice to select the version to use.

If you wish to remove or change the vipId in a project you can right click on the project file and use the menu entry Open choose. This will open the choose window on the project. The eraser icon will remove vipId mark from the project and the pin will set your new choice, the Visual Prolog icon launch the selected installation, but leave the vipId mark in the project unchanged.

If the vipID is a number then it represents a version number. (The version number 11s2 is an internal version number which will not appear for public versions).

If the vipId is set to * then vipLaunch will load the project into the IDE with the highest version (i.e. 11 in this case).

Besides using a version number vipLaunch can also invoke up-relative versions. Most people (outside PDC) will most likely not use this feature. But for completeness: an up-relative installation is an installation which is located upwards and to the side of the project location.

In the window above the first line with the green folder icon is an up-relative version. The project is D:\git\staff\src\Prog\Staff.vipprj. Going upwards twice from that location vipLaunch has found a Visual Prolog version, i.e. in ..\..\Visual Prolog\_vip6\Prodir relative to the project location (or D:\git\staff\src\Visual Prolog\_vip6\Prodir non-relative).

The vipId for this version is <<\Visual Prolog\_vip6\Prodir, where <<\ indicates an upwards folder (here two steps up). Such up-relative versions are intended for people that have Visual Prolog in their version control system, or for example uses some kind of package manager to install versions relative to the project folder.