Package Manager (apm)

Modern development relies heavily on reusing existing code and libraries. Aegis comes with a built-in Package Manager (often referred to as APM) to manage your project's dependencies, ensuring you can easily install, update, and publish modules.

The Project Manifest: aegis.toml

Every Aegis project starts with a manifest file named aegis.toml at the root of your directory. This file describes your project and lists the external packages it needs.

Here is an example of a typical aegis.toml file:

[package]
name = "my_rpg_game"
version = "0.1.0"
authors = ["You <you@example.com>"]

[dependencies]
glfw = "1.0.0"
sqlite = "0.2.0"
http = "*"

[package]: Metadata about your project.
[dependencies]: A list of packages to install from the Aegis Registry.

Managing Dependencies

Adding a Package

To add a new library to your project, use the add command. This will download the package and automatically add it to your aegis.toml file.

aegis add glfw

You can also specify a version:

aegis add sqlite 1.0.4

Installation Folder

When you add a dependency, Aegis downloads the files into a packages/ directory at the root of your project.

Project Structure:

my_project/
├── aegis.toml       <-- Manifest
├── src/
│   └── main.aeg     <-- Your code
└── packages/        <-- Managed by APM
    ├── glfw/
    └── sqlite/

Note: You should generally add packages/ to your .gitignore file, similar to node_modules in JavaScript or target in Rust.

Using Installed Packages

Once a package is installed, you can use it in your scripts using the import statement. Since packages are stored locally in the packages folder, the path is straightforward.

// Importing the GLFW library installed via APM
import "packages/glfw/glfw.aeg"

// Importing SQLite
import "packages/sqlite/sqlite.aeg"

func main() {
    // Use the namespace defined in the package
    var db = Sqlite.open("game.db")
    print "Database opened!"
}

main()

Publishing a Package

If you have created a library and want to share it with the world, APM makes it easy.

1. Authentication

First, you need to authenticate with the Aegis Registry using your token.

aegis login <your-api-token>

2. Publishing

Ensure your aegis.toml is correctly configured with a unique name and version, then run:

aegis publish

This will upload your code (excluding ignored files) to the registry, making it available for everyone to aegis add.

The Aegis Book