TBOOX Open Source Project
Focus on cross-platform development using c language-
Xmake v2.7.1 Released, Better C++ Modules Support
Xmake is a lightweight cross-platform build utility based on Lua.
It is very lightweight and has no dependencies because it has a built-in Lua runtime.
It uses xmake.lua to maintain project builds and its configuration syntax is very simple and readable.
We can use it to build project directly like Make/Ninja, or generate project files like CMake/Meson, and it also has a built-in package management system to help users solve the integrated use of C/C++ dependent libraries.
Xmake = Build backend + Project Generator + Package Manager + [Remote|Distributed] Build + CacheAlthough not very precise, we can still understand Xmake in the following way:
Xmake ~= Make/Ninja + CMake/Meson + Vcpkg/Conan + distcc + ccache/sccacheIntroduction of new features
In this release, we have refactored and improved the C++20 Modules implementation, improved the dependency graph parsing of module files, added support for STL and User HeaderUnits, and made the CMakelists/compile_commands generator support C++ Modules.
In addition, we’ve added an
xmake watchplugin that can monitor current project file updates in real time, automatically trigger incremental builds, or run some custom commands.
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Xmake v2.6.6 Released, Support Distributed Compilation and Build Cache
Xmake is a lightweight cross-platform build utility based on Lua.
It is very lightweight and has no dependencies because it has a built-in Lua runtime.
It uses xmake.lua to maintain project builds and its configuration syntax is very simple and readable.
We can use it to build project directly like Make/Ninja, or generate project files like CMake/Meson, and it also has a built-in package management system to help users solve the integrated use of C/C++ dependent libraries.
Xmake = Build backend + Project Generator + Package Manager + [Remote|Distributed] Build + CacheAlthough not very precise, we can still understand Xmake in the following way:
Xmake ~= Make/Ninja + CMake/Meson + Vcpkg/Conan + distcc + ccache/sccacheIntroduction of new features
In this version, we have added a lot of heavyweight new features:
- Distributed compilation
- Local compilation cache
- Remote compilation cache
With these features, we can compile large C/C++ projects faster.
In addition, they are completely cross-platform, support not only gcc/clang but also msvc, and there is no any third-party dependency except the compiler, which is very convenient to use.
Therefore, using Xmake is equivalent to using
distcc/ccache/sccacheat the same time.Compared with these third-party tools, Xmake fully supports Windows and msvc, which eliminates platform differences, independent process calls, and the overhead of additional daemon processes.
In addition to these features, the new version of Xmake also adds support for compiling Keil/C51 projects, as well as support for the nvc/nvc++/nvfortran compilers in the nvidia-hpc-sdk toolchain.
Support user authentication for remote compilation
In the last version, we initially supported remote compilation, but did not provide user authentication support, which would bring some security issues. Therefore, in this version, we added user authentication support.
At present, Xmake mainly provides the following authentication mechanisms. In addition, it is also effective for distributed compilation and remote caching.
- Token authentication
- Password authentication
- Trusted host verification
Token authentication
This is also the default recommended method, which is more secure, more convenient to configure and connect, and does not need to enter a password every time you connect.
When we execute the
xmake servicecommand, a server and client configuration file will be generated by default, and a default token will be automatically generated, so the local direct connection does not require any configuration.
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Xmake v2.6.5 released, Support remote compilation
Xmake is a lightweight cross-platform build utility based on Lua.
It is very lightweight and has no dependencies because it has a built-in Lua runtime.
It uses xmake.lua to maintain project builds and its configuration syntax is very simple and readable.
We can use it to build project directly like Make/Ninja, or generate project files like CMake/Meson, and it also has a built-in package management system to help users solve the integrated use of C/C++ dependent libraries.
Xmake = Build backend + Project Generator + Package ManagerIntroduction of new features
Remote Compilation Support
The new version provides remote compilation support, which allows us to compile code on a remote server, run and debug remotely.
The server can be deployed on Linux/MacOS/Windows to enable cross-platform compilation, e.g. compile and run Windows programs on Linux and macOS/Linux programs on Windows.
It is more stable and smoother to use than ssh remote login compilation, no lagging of ssh terminal input due to network instability, and allows for quick local editing of code files.
We can even seamlessly implement remote compilation in editors and IDEs such as vs/sublime/vscode/idea without relying on the IDE’s own support for remote compilation.
Start service
$ xmake service <remote_build_server>: listening 0.0.0.0:9096 ...We can also turn on the service while displaying back detailed log messages.
$ xmake service -vD <remote_build_server>: listening 0.0.0.0:9096 ...Start the service in Daemon mode
$ xmake service --start $ xmake service --restart $ xmake service --stopConfigure the server
We start by running the
xmake servicecommand, which automatically generates a defaultservice.confconfiguration file, stored in~/.xmake/service.conf.Then, we edit it to fix the server’s listening port (optional).
{ logfile = "/Users/ruki/.xmake/service/logs.txt", remote_build = { server = { listen = "0.0.0.0:9096" } } }Configure the client
We still edit this file
~/.xmake/service.confto configure the address of the server to which the client needs to connect.{ logfile = "/Users/ruki/.xmake/service/logs.txt", remote_build = { client = { connect = "192.168.56.101:9096", } } }Import the given configuration file
We can also import the given configuration file by using the following command.
$ xmake service --config=/tmp/service.confConnect to the remote server
Next, we just need to go into the root directory of the project we need to compile remotely and execute the
xmake service --connectcommand to make the connection.$ xmake create test $ cd test $ xmake service --connect <remote_build_client>: connect 192.168.56.110:9096 ... <remote_build_client>: connected! <remote_build_client>: sync files in 192.168.56.110:9096 ... Scanning files ... Comparing 3 files ... [+]: src/main.cpp [+]: .gitignore [+]: xmake.lua 3 files has been changed! Archiving files . Uploading files with 1372 bytes ... <remote_build_client>: sync files ok!Remote build project
Once the connection is successful, we can build remotely as if we were building locally as normal.
```console $ xmake
: run xmake in 192.168.56.110:9096 ... checking for platform ... macosx checking for architecture ... ... x86_64 ... checking for Xcode directory ... /Applications/Xcode.app checking for Codesign Identity of Xcode ... Apple Development: waruqi@gmail.com (T3NA4MRVPU) ... checking for SDK version of Xcode for macosx (x86_64) ... 11.3 ... checking for Minimal target version of Xcode for macosx (x86_64) ... 11.4 [ 25%]: ccache compiling.release src/main.cpp [ 50%]: linking.release test [ 100%]: build ok! : run command ok! ```'' [ 25% ]: ccache compiling.release src/main.cpp [ 50%]: linking.release test [100%]: build ok!
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Xmake and C/C++ Package Management
Xmake is a lightweight cross-platform build tool based on Lua. We have done a detailed introduction to Xmake and build system in previous articles. Introduction: C/C++ build system, I use xmake.
If you already have a general understanding of Xmake, you will know that it is not only a build tool, but also has built-in support for C/C++ package management. We can also understand Xmake as:
Xmake = Build backend + Project Generator + Package ManagerAfter several years of continuous iteration, Xmake’s support for C/C++ package management has been continuously improved, and many useful package management features have been added. Therefore, in this article, we will make some summaries on it, hoping to help everyone.
Build system and package management
The ecology of C++ is very complex, and there are certain historical reasons for this. In any case, the official does not provide native package management support. For our developers, it is somewhat inconvenient to use third-party C++ dependent libraries.
In fact, there are already many powerful C/C++ package managers, the most well-known and most used are: vcpkg, conan, conda, etc. Although they are very powerful, they have a common problem: The build system doesn’t have built-in support for them.
Since CMake does not provide built-in support for them, it is very cumbersome to use them in CMake to integrate dependencies, and the way of integration and use is inconsistent.
Using Conan with CMake
To use conan to integrate C/C++ packages in CMake, we need to provide additional CMake Wrapper scripts and inject them into our own projects in a similar way as plug-ins.
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Xmake v2.6.4 released, Improve a lot of package management features
Xmake is a lightweight cross-platform build utility based on Lua.
It is very lightweight and has no dependencies because it has a built-in Lua runtime.
It uses xmake.lua to maintain project builds and its configuration syntax is very simple and readable.
We can use it to build project directly like Make/Ninja, or generate project files like CMake/Meson, and it also has a built-in package management system to help users solve the integrated use of C/C++ dependent libraries.
Xmake = Build backend + Project Generator + Package ManagerIntroduction of new features
More flexible package extensions
Now, we can inherit all the configuration of an existing package through the
set_baseinterface, and then rewrite part of the configuration on this basis.This is usually in the user’s own project, it is more useful to modify the built-in package of the official repository of xmake-repo, such as: repairing and changing urls, modifying the version list, Install logic and more.
For example, modify the url of the built-in zlib package to switch to your own zlib source address.
package("myzlib") set_base("zlib") set_urls("https://github.com/madler/zlib.git") package_end() add_requires("myzlib", {system = false, alias = "zlib"}) target("test") set_kind("binary") add_files("src/*.c") add_packages("zlib")We can also use it to simply add an alias package.
package("onetbb") set_base("tbb")We can install the tbb package through
add_requires("onetbb")integration, but the package name is different.Package management supports toolchain switching
Previously, we limited the toolchains that can only be installed under the cross platform to switch packages. In the new version, we can support the switchover of toolchains under more platforms.
E.g:
$ xrepo install --toolchains=clang zlibWe can quickly switch to the clang toolchain to compile and install the zlib library on platforms such as linux.
We can also switch them in the xmake.lua configuration file.
add_requires("zlib", {configs = {toolchains = "gcc-11"}})The zlib packages installed by different tool chains will be stored in different directories without interfering with each other, and there will be no link compatibility problems caused by compiler differences.