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72 changes: 69 additions & 3 deletions docs/index.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -9,14 +9,80 @@ The [CLI](cli-reference/dub.md) can be used to
- compile projects and external programs ([dub build](cli-reference/dub-build.md), [dub run](cli-reference/dub-run.md))
- test projects ([dub test](cli-reference/dub-test.md))

To see how to obtain dub, **go to the next page by pressing the button below**.
DUB is bundled with most D compilers' distributions. However, it's also possible to install it separately.
See [Installing DUB](getting-started/install.md) for details.

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## Starting a new project
## DUB Basics

You can also skip ahead to [First steps](getting-started/first-steps.md) if you already have dub installed.
DUB is a build tool similar to other modern languages build tools like Javascript's [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/)
and Rust's [cargo](https://crates.io/).

A file called `dub.sdl` (or `dub.json`) is used to configure a DUB project.
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Technically, that is called the "recipe file"

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I would mention the 3 files that drive dub:

  • Recipe file, per project;
  • Selections file, or lock file, tied to a recipe file;
  • Configuration file, which can be at project, user, or system scope;

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Configuration file refers to this one? https://dub.pm/dub-reference/settings/

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I've edited the text to mention all three files.


> [SDL](https://sdlang.org/) is a "Simple Declarative Language" inspired by D's syntax.
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I don't think it is inspired by D's syntax though

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@PetarKirov PetarKirov Jan 11, 2024

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Yes, SDL is an independent project (possibly, but I don't remember, implemented first in a language other than D). After various community members compared different alternatives to JSON, SDL stood out as the one most fitting Dub.

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Ah, I think I just guessed it :D. I will remove that comment then.

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I've changed this passage, let me know if it's ok now.

> Whether to use SDL or JSON for the DUB file is a [matter of taste](https://forum.dlang.org/thread/[email protected]).

A DUB file may look like this:

```sdl
name "myproject"
description "A minimal D application."
authors "My Name"
copyright "Copyright © 2024, My Name"
license "Boost"

dependency "libasync" version="~>0.9.5"

configuration "library" {
targetPath "target/lib"
}

configuration "unittest" {
dependency "tested" version="~>0.9.5"
dependency "dshould" version="~>1.7.1"
targetPath "target/test"
}
```

[DUB Configurations](dub-reference/configurations.md) are used to create different variations of a project.

In the above example, all configurations include a dependency on `libasync` because that's declared at the top-level,
but only the `unittest` configuration includes the dependencies `tested` and `dshould`.
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Note for yourself: There is a longstanding bug in dub and that is currently not the case. But we intend to fix it.

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Oh... but does the test lib actually get included in the compiled binaries?


When running `dub test`, all [Unit Tests](https://tour.dlang.org/tour/en/gems/unittesting) found in
[sourcePaths](dub-reference/build_settings.md#sourcepaths) are executed using the `unittest` configuration by default.

To specify a configuration explicitly when building, use the `--config` option:

```
dub build --config=library
```

DUB also uses the concept of [build types](dub-reference/buildtypes.md) to define what to build. Many build types are
pre-defined, but the most common ones are `debug` and `release`.

Hence, to build the release version of a library, the following command could be used:

```
dub build --config=library --build=release
```

Finally, to run the application, use `dub run`.

Check [Building](dub-guide/building.md) for more details.

## Next Steps

[First Steps](getting-started/first-steps.md) completes this overview of the basic DUB workflow.

The [DUB Guide](dub-guide/recipe.md) goes into more details about building, testing, configuring dependencies and registries,
shared libraries, publishing packages and more.

More experienced users can use the [DUB Reference](dub-reference/recipe.md) and [CLI Reference](cli-reference/dub/)
for a comprehensive list of the available options.