Includes
An include directive in a vspec file will read the file it refers to and the contents of that file will be inserted into the current buffer in place of the include directive. The included file will, in its turn, be scanned for include directives to be replaced, effectively forming a tree of included files.
See Fig 6 for an example of such a tree.
Fig 6. Include directives
The include directive has the following format:
#include <filename> [prefix]
The <filename> part specifies the path, relative to the file with the #include directive, to the vspec file to replace the directive with.
The optional [prefix] specifies a branch name to be
prepended to all signal entries in the included file. This allows a vspec file
to be reused multiple times by different files, each file specifying their
own branch to attach the included file to.
An example of an include directive is:
#include doors.vpsec chassis.doors
The door.vspec section specifies the file to include.
The chassis.doors section specifies that all signal entries in door.vspec should have their names prefixed with chassis.doors.
If an included vspec file has branch or signal specifications that have already been defined prior to the included file, the new specifications in the included file will override the previous specifications.
REUSING SIGNAL TREES
Complete subtrees of signals can be reused by including them multiple times, attaching them to different branches each time they are included.
An example is given in Fig 7 where a generic door signal specification is included four times to describe all doors in the vehicle.
Fig 7. Reusing signal trees
The door.vspec file is included four times by the master root.vspec file.
The signals of door.vspec, Locked, WinPos, and Open are attached
on the front left and right doors of row 1 (front) and row 2 (back).
If door.vspec is changed, the changes will be propagated to all four doors.