File attached compile time script does most of its work by handling events fired by the compiler. While embedded scripts run once during a strictly defined phase of the file processing, file attached scripts live time corresponds to the entire file processing. Thus they are able to perform more complex tasks and are able to interact with the compiler at every important phase of the file processing. Furthermore they are able even to command the compiler to skip a particular file or to process it several times with different options.

Typical usage of file embedded script involve handling of only two (or one of them) of the events listed below - OnProcessFile and OnCheckStructure. However file attached script is able to perform more complex and specific tasks by handling some of the other events. Reading their documentation could be skipped without risk and you could return here when you fill you need some functionality not available through the two major events.

Events are handled by writing a routine in the CTS with the name and parameters of the event. Every event description contains a function/sub prototype and little example. If the function/sub is not defined compiler assumes the event is not handled. Thus you need to include code only for the handled events.

Events:

Most frequently used:

OnProcessFile - Informs the script for the processed file. By processing the event script is able to change the output file name, cause multiply processing of the same file to be done, change some parameters or skip/end file processing.

OnCheckStructure - Informs the script the file is parsed and gives it access to the logical representation of the file - the Page Object Model (document tree of the parsed file). Most of the work the script needs to do is performed here. The script is able to modify the tree of the document in almost unlimited ways. This could be a template oriented usage of the input file for multiply file generation or could be code injection in some script determined places of the file.

Advanced events

OnModifyParser - By default Page Object Model served to the script through the OnCheckStructure event is the model corresponding to the file processing option - includes ASP tags, SCRIPT RUNAT=COMPILER and CUSTOM tags for ASPToASP, ASPToVB processing and contains only SCRIPT and CUSTOM tags in case of SSIToHTML processing. If the script needs to access other parts of the page (usually typical HTML elements - such as TITLE or META tags) the script is able to request these elements to be included in the document tree when parsing the document. By simple call to the AddTag method of the parser the object model served later in the OnCheckStructure event is extended..

OnRequireCompletion - This event is fired at the very end of the file processing. It is fired only once! E.g. if the script causes the compiler to process the file multiply times (see OnProcessFile) this event will be fired after the last file processing operation. Through this event the script is asked to register a completion procedure (script). Completion procedure is something that could be done only after processing all the files in the project. For example generating files from information collected from the processed files.

Special events. Supplied to give the script chance to solve non-standard problems and perform some very specific tasks that do not fit in the ASP Compiler's architecture.

OnCreateOutput - 

OnOutputCreated - 

OnLoaderFileCreated - 

Events firing order.- see the First phase of the build and CTS