AidaHelp_5

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The Aida header

An Aida file can contain header instructions in order to declare or to
modify some basic settings. Header instructions are usually written at the
beginning of the file but there is no requirement for this: they are
processed by the Aida parser as they are met.

The settings they define are of two kinds: global or target-specific. A target-specific header instruction is executed only
when this target is selected by the aida convert or the aida
split commands. A global instruction is executed no matter what format
is targetted.

The syntax of a global instruction is:

:parameter:    value

It is a single line containing the name of the header parameter enclosed
between colons, followed by spaces and a value for this parameter. For
instance:

:Title:             AidaHelp
:DestDir:           ../../Output/Help

The header parameter must be at the beginning of the line.

The main parameters defined by Aida are explained below. The command

    aida help header

returns a list of these parameters.

It is also possible to define one's own parameters in order to control
advanced settings. This will be explained later.

The syntax of a target specific instruction is:

:parameter:target:    value

This is very similar to the global instruction: only the name of a target
is appended to the parameter and followed by a colon. For instance:

:DestDir:html:      ../../htdocs
:DestDir:trac:      ../../Output/Trac

When a target-specific parameter is found, it always has precedence over a
global parameter of the same name.