Build Systems
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Hi All, I am evaluating different build mechanisms as our products require an number of programmes to be run. Do any of you use builds systems like Ant, Bake, Jam, make, etc.? Are they better than a simple .bat file? Which ones would you recommend? thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
Make, planning to indtroduce auto dependancy which was used at my last place.
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Hi All, I am evaluating different build mechanisms as our products require an number of programmes to be run. Do any of you use builds systems like Ant, Bake, Jam, make, etc.? Are they better than a simple .bat file? Which ones would you recommend? thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
Try x-script generator. It can be used to generator NAnt scripts using GUI, which allows you to invoke all exiting build tools (like compiler, linker, etc.). In addition, if there is a need to have more control over the build process that is not *standard*, like code insertion, code protection, code image manipulation (e.g. code protection, ...), etc. You can write your own extension assemblies or use other existing ones that can easily be plugged into the x-script generator system (and NAnt extension ports) and to have it run at a particular step you want in the build process. The user side of the "learning" curve for it is very smooth and the script generation is half automated so that its very easy.
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Make, planning to indtroduce auto dependancy which was used at my last place.
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Mike Dimmick wrote:
A lot of the stuff I do is currently oriented around Visual Studio projects and workspaces/solutions. Particularly for Windows CE/Windows Mobile projects, it's really hard to set up a command line environment where you can actually use nmake effectively. So my technique is to just get VS/eVC to do the build. All versions of Visual Studio support building from the command line. For VC 6: msdev myprj.dsp /make "ALL - RELEASE" /rebuild
I did the same some time ago in a VC++ 6.0 project. BTW, how can you use VC 8.0 from the command line? -- modified at 8:08 Monday 30th October, 2006 Got it:
Command line builds:
devenv solutionfile.sln /build solutionconfig [ /project projectnameorfile [ /projectconfig name ] ]
Available command line switches:/Edit Opens the specified files in a running instance of this
application. If there are no running instances, it will
start a new instance with a simplified window layout.
/Log Logs IDE activity to the specified file for troubleshooting.
/ResetSettings Restores the IDE's default settings, optionally resets to
the specified VSSettings file.
/SafeMode Launches the IDE in safe mode loading minimal windows.devenv.exeis not included in VCExpress.You can build VS 2005 solutions on the command line using msbuild.exe (installed with the framework, not even the SDK is required).
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You can build VS 2005 solutions on the command line using msbuild.exe (installed with the framework, not even the SDK is required).
Not C++...
every night, i kneel at the foot of my bed and thank the Great Overseeing Politicians for protecting my freedoms by reducing their number, as if they were deer in a state park. -- Chris Losinger, Online Poker Players?
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Not C++...
every night, i kneel at the foot of my bed and thank the Great Overseeing Politicians for protecting my freedoms by reducing their number, as if they were deer in a state park. -- Chris Losinger, Online Poker Players?
I'm sure I saw special code in MSBuild that handles C++ projects (which still have the old file format) last time I was looking at the .NET Framework using Reflector. Of course Visual Studio must be installed, the C++ compiler is not part of the framework.
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I recently converted my batch build file to MS PowerShell (formerly known as Monad). It is quirky and weird and takes some trickery to get started and some time to get used to - but boy you can do all these things! * push the stdout of a program in a string, and search for tokens, e.g. to display "(N) errors" summary * search & replace in a plain text file * access & modify XML files * Use all the .NET goodies * Access COM / Automation interfaces * Error Handling is way better than in batch files (though it could still improve) * Functions! Howly cow! It has functions! With Name! And Parameters! (this bulleted list was specifically designed for Shog9oth' pleasure) Dedicated build systems might be better for a particular task (e.g. nant for .NET stuff), but I have no experience with them. -- modified at 8:15 Monday 30th October, 2006
We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
Linkify! || Fold With Us! || sighistpeterchen wrote:
(this bulleted list was specifically designed for Shog9oth' pleasure)
:rolleyes: Seven bullets... must give monadad a try...
every night, i kneel at the foot of my bed and thank the Great Overseeing Politicians for protecting my freedoms by reducing their number, as if they were deer in a state park. -- Chris Losinger, Online Poker Players?
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Hi All, I am evaluating different build mechanisms as our products require an number of programmes to be run. Do any of you use builds systems like Ant, Bake, Jam, make, etc.? Are they better than a simple .bat file? Which ones would you recommend? thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
We currently use CruiseControl.NET to handle the automation of the builds. The projects trigger every 15 - 30 minutes and build only if changes have been checked in to source control. The CCNET projects simply call NAnt build scripts that take care of actually building the projects. The build scripts are really where we hide most of the complexity of the build process. I have used Jam before to build some third-party libraries, and found it to be very cumbersome, but that could have just been the implementation. If you're not running on a Windows platform, CruiseControl and Ant would be my recommendations. They are the Linux/Unix originals of CruiseControl.NET and NAnt.
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Trollslayer wrote:
auto dependancy
What is auto dependency ? target finding their dependencies automatically, like in visual ?
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Yes, use the GCC compiler to generate a list of dependancies (-M option) then include the resulting .dep files in the make files.
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A lot of the stuff I do is currently oriented around Visual Studio projects and workspaces/solutions. Particularly for Windows CE/Windows Mobile projects, it's really hard to set up a command line environment where you can actually use
nmakeeffectively. So my technique is to just get VS/eVC to do the build. All versions of Visual Studio support building from the command line. For VC 6:msdev myprj.dsp /make "ALL - RELEASE" /rebuild
eVC:
evc myprj.vcp /make "ALL - RELEASE" /CEConfig="Pocket PC 2003" /rebuild
VS 2003, 2005:
devenv solution.sln /rebuild Release
I put the appropriate sequence of commands into a batch file. Tools like nmake, NAnt, MSBuild etc really only offer additional dependency management. For a testing or final release build I normally rebuild everything anyway, which nullifies the benefit of dependency management (that is, only rebuilding things that have changed). They're helpful on a developer's workstation for tools that don't have their own dependency management, but VS does (admittedly, sometimes it doesn't get it right). To assist with eVC builds I wrote a program which looks at the workspace to determine the right version of eVC to use (3.0 or 4.0), then looks in the registry to work out where eVC was installed to, so I don't need eVC in my path or installed to a fixed location.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
We use NAnt for our build system here and most of my work is done in the CompactFramework. It works great! We use it to produce our release and qa builds.
This statement is false.
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Hi All, I am evaluating different build mechanisms as our products require an number of programmes to be run. Do any of you use builds systems like Ant, Bake, Jam, make, etc.? Are they better than a simple .bat file? Which ones would you recommend? thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
I would recommend NAnt. We're using it with success. Mostly ASP.NET and CompactFramework apps though.
This statement is false.
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peterchen wrote:
(this bulleted list was specifically designed for Shog9oth' pleasure)
:rolleyes: Seven bullets... must give monadad a try...
every night, i kneel at the foot of my bed and thank the Great Overseeing Politicians for protecting my freedoms by reducing their number, as if they were deer in a state park. -- Chris Losinger, Online Poker Players?
You must admit it's an improvement from seven separate bulleted lists! ;)
We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
Linkify! || Fold With Us! || sighist -
Hi All, I am evaluating different build mechanisms as our products require an number of programmes to be run. Do any of you use builds systems like Ant, Bake, Jam, make, etc.? Are they better than a simple .bat file? Which ones would you recommend? thanks, Rich
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning." -- Rich Cook
I would also highly recommand SCons. It is a remarkable piece of software. It uses python as the basis for its build definitions, and it produces a nice mix of declarative and procedural way of defining your build process. It abstracts really nicely many platform specific concepts, such as shared libraries, static libraries, and compilers. It has build in C++ parsing to have #include dependencies, and it optionally works off md5 checksums of all inputs, intermediate, and outputs to see if anything needs rebuilding. I am really impressed with it. - Phil
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Try x-script generator. It can be used to generator NAnt scripts using GUI, which allows you to invoke all exiting build tools (like compiler, linker, etc.). In addition, if there is a need to have more control over the build process that is not *standard*, like code insertion, code protection, code image manipulation (e.g. code protection, ...), etc. You can write your own extension assemblies or use other existing ones that can easily be plugged into the x-script generator system (and NAnt extension ports) and to have it run at a particular step you want in the build process. The user side of the "learning" curve for it is very smooth and the script generation is half automated so that its very easy.
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Link?
ed ~"Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words they become your actions. Watch your actions; they become your habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." -Frank Outlaw.