3.4 Distributing a Program

Euphoria provides you with 4 distinct ways of distributing a program.

  • "source-code", with the Euphoria "interpreter"
  • "shroud" into .il code, with Euphoria "backend"
  • "bind" into a Euphoria executable
  • "translate" into a C-compiled executable

In the first method you simply ship your users the interpreter along with your Euphoria source files including any Euphoria includes that may be necessary from the euphoria/include directory. If the Euphoria source files and the interpreter are placed together in one directory then your user can run your program by typing eui followed by the path of your main executable source file. You might also provide a small .bat file so people won't actually have to type the interpreter name. This method assumes that you are willing to share your Euphoria source code with your users.

The Binder gives you two more methods of distribution. You can shroud your program, or you can bind your program. Shrouding combines all of the Euphoria source code that your program needs to create a single .il file. Binding combines your shrouded program with the Euphoria backend (eub or eubw on Windows) to create a single, stand-alone executable file. For example, if your program is called "myprog.ex" you can create "myprog.exe" which will run identically. For more information about shrouding and binding, see Binding and Shrouding.

Finally, with the Euphoria To C Translator, you can translate your Euphoria program into C and then compile it with a C compiler to get an executable program.