Programming Languages - Build Tools

Build toolchain: compiler + linker + libraries + others.

Build tools / package managers:

Tool	Config / DSL	C/C++	JVM	Rust	Go	Swift	JS
CMake	CMakeLists.txt	Yes
Gradle	Groovy / Kotlin	Yes	Yes			Yes
Maven	xml		Yes
Bazel	Starlark (Python)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cargo	toml			Yes
NPM	json						Yes

JVM inclues Java, Kotlin, Scala, etc.

Build Tools

• Makefile: manual, only for small projects
• CMake: (https://cmake.org/) an open-source build tool
• Bazel (https://bazel.build/): Google's open-source build tool (internally called Blaze) client / server
  • Starlark as the config language, a dialect of Python. Used in BUILD and .bzl files https://github.com/bazelbuild/starlark/
  • Soong: for Android AOSP. Similar to Bazel, and being migrated to Bazel;. https://android.googlesource.com/platform/build/soong/+/refs/heads/master/README.md
• Buck2 (https://buck2.build/): Facebook's open-source build tool. C++, Python, Rust. Also using Starlark (same as Bazel)
• Meson: https://mesonbuild.com/
  • supported languages include C, C++, D, Fortran, Java, Rust.
  • used by GIMP, glib, lxc, libfuse (https://github.com/libfuse/libfuse)
• Gradle: Android Studio uses Gradle by default to build Android apps. Use Groovy or Kotlin. Can build JVM languages and C++, Swift, etc.
  • Kotlin DSL added in 8.0 as an alternative to the Groovy DSL.
  • Gradle vs Gradlew: gradle is the command, used to init the project and gradlew script; gradlew is the wrapper, which is committed in the source control, used to build / test a project and run gradle tasks.
• Maven

Both Bazel (from Google) and Buck (from Meta) write rules in starlark (a Python-like language); Buck 1 and Bazel are written in Java, while Buck 2 is in Rust.

Package Managers and Registries

• Java / Kotlin / Scala: Maven Central https://search.maven.org/
• Python: Python Package Index
• Node.js: npm(Node Package Manager) https://www.npmjs.com/
• Ruby: RubyGems.
• Perl: Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN)
• R: Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).
• Rust: https://crates.io/

Cloud Services

• Google Cloud Build: https://cloud.google.com/build
• AWS CodeBuild: https://aws.amazon.com/codebuild/

Compilers

• swc: (https://swc.rs/) a typescript / javascript compiler, written in Rust.
• Emscripten: an LLVM/Clang-based compiler that compiles C and C++ source code to WebAssembly

Clang vs GCC

2 Primary C/C++ compilers: Clang and GCC.

	Clang	GCC
License	Apache 2.0	GPL / LGPL
C++ Standard Library	libc++	libstdc++
C Standard Library		glibc
Parent Project	LLVM	GNU
Website	https://clang.llvm.org/	https://gcc.gnu.org/

Notes:

• Clang was originated from Apple but now widely used (You will find Google, Facebook Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm, Huawei in LLVM Found ation sponsor list https://foundation.llvm.org/docs/sponsors/)
• Emerging languages are using the LLVM frameworks, such as Swift, Rust.
• GCC was deprecated in Android in 2019 and removed in 2020
• GCC is the official compiler for the GNU and Linux systems
• Clang supports a wide variety of C standard library implementations.

Conclusion: use Clang/LLVM if you do not have to use GCC.

Install Clang

On Debian / Ubuntu:

$ sudo apt install clang libc++-dev libc++abi-dev

Verify:

$ clang --version
clang version xx.x.x
Target: x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: /usr/bin