/sys$common/syshlp/helplib.hlb DCE_IDL, DESCRIPTION  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

   The idl command invokes the IDL compiler to convert an interface
   definition, written in IDL, into output files. The output files include
   a header file, server stub file, client stub file, and auxiliary files.
   The compiler constructs the names of the output files by keeping the
   basename of the interface definition source file but replacing the
   filename extension with the new extension (or suffix and extension)
   appropriate to the newly generated type of output file.  For example,
   math.idl could produce math_sstub.c or math_sstub.o for the server stub.

   The idl command accepts the following input:

     +  An interface definition filename.

     +  Arguments to indicate either special actions to be performed by the
        compiler, or special properties of the input or output files.

   The IDL compiler searches through directories for any related ACF.
   For example, if you compile a file named source.idl, the compiler
   automatically searches for a file named source.acf.  The compiler also
   searches for any imported IDL file (and its related ACF).  The compiler
   searches for these files using the following order:

    1.  The current working directory.  The compiler always searches this
        directory unless you specify the -no_def_idir and -Idirectory
        arguments together.

    2.  Any imported directory.  The compiler searches each directory you
        are specifying in the -Idirectory argument.

    3.  The system IDL directory.   The compiler automatically imports
        nbase.idl, which resides in the system IDL directory.  The compiler
        always searches this directory unless you specify the -no_def_idir
        argument.

    4.  The directory specified in the source filename.  If you explicitly
        specify a directory in the source IDL pathname, then that directory
        is searched for the corresponding ACF.  For example,

             $ idl usera:[my_dir]my_source.idl

        causes the IDL compiler to look for usera:[my_dir]my_source.acf
        if my_source.acf is not found in the directories in 1,2 and 3.
        Note that this directory is not searched for any imported IDL file
        or its corresponding ACF.

   Restrictions

   The following filenames are reserved by the IDL compiler.  Naming an IDL
   file with one of these names may result in unexpected behavior.

            iovector.idl   lbase.idl      nbase.idl      ncastat.idl
            ndrold.idl     rpc.idl        rpcbase.idl    rpcpvt.idl
            rpcsts.idl     rpctypes.idl   twr.idl        uuid.idl