A resource file may contain a collection of icons, menus, dialog boxes, strings tables, user-defined binary data and other types of items.
Once compiled into a suitable format, a resource file can be embedded directly into an executable or DLL file, producing a single EXE or DLL containing both code and resources. At run-time, the application can use the resource items in the embedded file. The process of creating a resource is straightforward, and is similar to compiling a PowerBASIC program.
While resource files are still supported, usage of the #RESOURCE metastatement simplifies adding resources to your program or DLL. With the #RESOURCE metastatement you can add resource data inline, right in your basic source code. There is no need to create a resource file, compile it, and then link it into your source. All this done automatically when you use the #RESOURCE metastatement.
The following sections describe the (manual) techniques involved in compiling resource scripts into a usable format, and describe the Resource Script.
See Also