Python code generators

Background

It is possible to create a code generator Bazel Rule that acts as a py_library. The Bazel Action setup by the code generator Rule would execute a tool that outputs Python source code. A py_binary is then configured with the code generator Rule instance as a dependency and uses the generated source code.

The following diagram shows how a code generator might look like in a typical scenario where code is generated from the structures present in a schema.

Example

See the Python example simple_code_generator.

Intelli-J

The Bazel Intelli-J plugin is able to work with generated Python code in this situation. You need to ensure that your code generator Bazel Rule has no srcs attribute and that it is configured in your .bazelproject file as follows...

python_code_generator_rule_names:
  test_codegen_files_py
  test_codegen_directory_py

...where test_codegen_files_py and test_codegen_directory_py are Rule names.