BSCMAKE builds or rebuilds a database in the most efficient way it can. To avoid some potential problems, it is important to understand the database-building process.
Summary: BSCMAKE changes .SBR files to zero-length files.
When BSCMAKE builds a database, it truncates the .SBR files to zero length. During a subsequent build of the same database, a zero-length (or empty) .SBR file tells BSCMAKE that the .SBR file has no new contribution to make. It lets BSCMAKE know that an update of that part of the database is not required and an incremental build will be sufficient. During every build (unless the /n option is specified), BSCMAKE first attempts to update the database incrementally by using only those .SBR files that have changed.
Summary: BSCMAKE attempts an incremental build before it runs a full build.
BSCMAKE looks for a .BSC file that has the name specified with the /o option (described on topic ); if /o is not specified, BSCMAKE looks for a file that has the base name of the first .SBR file and a .BSC extension. If the database exists, BSCMAKE performs an incremental build of the database using only the contributing .SBR files. If the database does not exist, BSCMAKE performs a full build using all .SBR files.
For a full build to succeed, all specified .SBR files must exist and must not be truncated. If any .SBR file is truncated, you must first rebuild it (by recompiling) before running BSCMAKE.
Requirements for an Incremental Build
For an incremental build to succeed, the .BSC file must exist. All contributing .SBR files, even empty files, must exist and must be specified on the BSCMAKE command line. If you omit an .SBR file from the command line, BSCMAKE removes its contribution from the database.