How to copy a folder with resources using Premake5

Question

Question No. 1

The root folder looks something like this:

    <project-dir> 
    ├─build
    │ └─bin
    │   └─Debug
    │     ├─data
    │     │ └─player.png
    │     └─game.exe
    ├─data
    │ └─sprites
    │   └─player.png
    ├─src
    │ └─main.cpp
    └─premake5.lua

When trying to copy the data folder to the build/bin/Debug/ folder using the command:

postbuildcommands "{COPYDIR} data \"build/bin/%{cfg.buildcfg}\" /s /h /e /k /f /c"

This error pops up:

error MSB3073: command error "xcopy /Q /E /Y /I data "build\bin\Debug" \s \h \e \k \f \c
error MSB3073: :VCEnd" with code 4.

Question No. 2

There are 2 options:

1. I'll point the path directly from main.cpp (LoadFromFile("../data/sprites/player.png");)
2. I will specify the path this way (LoadFromFile("data/sprites/player/png);)

In the first variant, the code runs in Visual Studio, but if you run .exe, the file will not be found, in addition, if the source file is nested many times, you will have to write ../../../.

In the second option, Visual Studio cannot download the file, but the .exe file that is being run will open it successfully.

How can I get rid of this problem?

I tried to use different syntax variants of the {COPYDIR} command, but nothing happened. And how to solve the problem described in the second question, I can't even imagine.

Answer 1

Purpose of {COPYDIR} is to be generic, and those extra flags only make sense for xcopy (not unix cp).

And unfortunately, in:

postbuildcommands "{COPYDIR} data \"build/bin/%{cfg.buildcfg}\" /s /h /e /k /f /c"

All flags /s /h /e /k /f and /c are considered as paths, and Premake "normalizes" them (so for windows with \ separator) :-(

As possible workarounds:

• drop those extra flags if possible

• create a script which forward to xcopy with given flags.

• use buildaction:

  filter "files:data/**"
      buildaction ("Copy")
  

  but directories risk to be flattened.