Alex Rivera | Logout

Why has nobody created an open source build system for the brain dead?

Asked 2009-10-20T17:55:33.190
11

I want to build a shared library. GNU/Linux is the development and target platform. C is the implementation language.

I can't decide how I want to setup the build system and keep flitting around three options each of which have lots of reasons to dislike:

  • hand crafted Makefiles - I've worked this way almost exclusively in the past
  • GNU Autotools - I used autotools earlier this year to build a shared C library, but have forgotten how I did it and where all the many hundreds of tutorials were I used for pickings.
  • waf - supposedly simple but not so easy I've got it working this afternoon.

I can't decide which to go for. I'll settle on one, start working then come across a problem and decide the other system is better. I'm stuck stuck stuck. Can someone shed some light on this please which might help me settle the matter?

build autotools configure waf
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1 Answer

6

Well: All systems suck. Some just suck less. as the mutt mailer states. That said, some quick comments:

  • Qt is pretty nice and well documented, and I like the .pro files one creates. Plus it is reliably cross-platform to book and you now get IDEs etc if you want them.
  • CMake is what we use at work, and it is cross-platform too, one can get used to it but I still find it quirky.
  • GNU Autoconf et al is what I use for my projects. Quirky, but I got used to it and a bazillion working examples on the Intertubes.
  • Scons maybe?
answered 2009-10-20T18:00:09.730

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