PAServer, the Platform Assistant Server Application

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The Platform Assistant server (named paserver) is a command-line application that can be installed on Windows and OS X. You install the Platform Assistant on a remote system, in the same network as your development system, to let RAD Studio interact with that remote system, so that you can develop cross-platform (multi-device) applications for OS X, iOS, or Win64 (this last from a Win32 development system).

The Platform Assistant allows you to develop multi-device applications and to debug applications remotely.

The Platform Assistant needs to be running and connected to the IDE in order for you to do the following:

The Scratch Directory

The scratch directory (scratch-dir) is a directory that the Platform Assistant uses to store project output files. It can contain executable files, libraries, configuration files, provisioning files, images, icons, and any other type of file that might be generated when you are running, debugging or deploying applications.

The default scratch-dir location is: 

/Users/yourname/PAServer/scratch-dir

The output files are saved to profile-specific folders, and the file names include your username and the connection profile name. For example: 

scratch-dir\Username-ConnectionProfileName

You can specify a custom path to be used as the scratch directory. See Setting Options for the Platform Assistant.

Platform Assistant Command-Line Help

There are two ways to get online help:

  • Run PAServer only to display the help screen (paserver quits after displaying help)
  • Use the h command while PAServer is already running

Displaying the Help Screen

To display the help screen for the Platform Assistant, pass the -help switch when you run paserver on the command line, as follows:

On OS X: 

MacOS username $ ./paserver -help

On Windows: 

> paserver -help

Here is the paserver help screen: 

Platform Assistant Server  
Copyright  Embarcadero Technologies, Inc.
Usage: paserver [options>]

where <options> include:
-port=<nnnnn>        Specify the port number, default=64211
-scratchdir=<dir>    Specify the parent directory for client temporary files
-libextension=<cmd>  Specify the dynamic library extensions, default=,dylib, h
-tarcommand=<cmd>    Specify the path for tar binary, default=/usr/bin/tar
-debuglauncher=<app> Specify the debugger launcher application
-devicetimeout=<n>   Specify the device connection timeout, in seconds, default=10
-nopermissioncheck   Do not attempt to acquire permission to support debugging
-unrestricted        Allow put and remove file(s) operation outside client
                     temporary files directory, default is not allowed
-password=<text>     Specify the remote profile login password, default is
                     to prompt for the login password
-passfile=<file>     Specify the remote profile login passfile, default is 
                     to prompt for the login password
-config=<file>       Specify the default settings
-help                Print this help screen

Displaying Help While paserver is Running

After you start the Platform Assistant, you can use the h (help) command to show a detailed list of the available commands. For example: 

> h
q - stop the server
c - print all clients
p - print port number
i - print available IP addresses
s - print scratch directory
g - generate login passfile
v - toggle verbose mode
r - reset, terminate all child processes
>

To use any option other than the displayed options, you need to quit PAServer and restart.

For more information, see Setting Options for the Platform Assistant.

Connection Issues

  • To test the connection between your development system and the machine where the Platform Assistant server is running, use the Test Connection button on the Connection Profile Manager page in Tools Options. For steps to follow, see Creating and Testing a Connection Profile on the Development PC.
  • If you receive a "Connection refused" error message related to Platform Assistant Server version mismatch, update your Platform Assistant installation on the remote system to the version number specified in the error message. When you run the Platform Assistant on the remote system, its version number is displayed in its banner.
  • For information about the "Acquiring permission to support debugging" message or about problems when trying to debug an OS X application, see Acquiring Permission to Support Debugging on a Mac.
  • For information about a message from the Windows Firewall when trying to connect to a 64-bit Windows system, see Connecting Your 32-bit PC to a Win64 PC.

Topics

See Also

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