OTP Build System

Thomas Depierre

@Di4naO

What ?

• Current system
• Problems
• Requirements
• Contenders

Current System

• Autoconf + Make
• Features detection
• Multi OS
• --without
• tests build
• ...

===============================================================================
 Language            Files        Lines         Code     Comments       Blanks
===============================================================================
 Autoconf               40        20795        14885         3225         2685
 Makefile               393        29942        14276         9810         5856
===============================================================================

Problems

• Slow
• No dependency handling
  • --without-wx
    • if wx not present everything work... but doc is built
    • if wx is present, all hell break loose

• --without-XX —disable-XX=yes/no —enable-XX=yes/no

• OpenSSL...
• Feature detection DIY
• Append-only/write-only
• Tests are hard to run
• Autoconf has no maintainer
• ...

Requirements

• Windows, Linux, MacOS, BSD(Free, Open), Solaris/Illumos
  • VxWork ?
  • Other BSD ?
• Handle subprojects and dependencies
• Maintained
• Feature detection
• Support bootstrap and tests
• Can be kept in parallel of make for transition
• Faster ?
• Cross-compilation
• ?????

Contenders

• Autoconf/Make clean up
• CMake
• Premake/Xmake
• Meson
• Bazel/Buck/...
• ...

Pro

• Already got the code
• Incremental improvements
• No need to rewrite

Cons

• See previous
• Mostly hard to do
• Poorest windows support
• How long...

Autoconf/Make Cleanup

Pro

• Maintained
• Good enough user base
• Ninja backend
• Fast
• Language seems approachable
• Can run side to side (output to a build directory)
• OS Support

Cons

• Need to redo everything
• Python dependency for build

Meson

Meson ?

• Missing requirements ?
• Reason to say no ?
• Problems i forgot to talk about ?
• Long term for erlang apps:
  • Meson module ?
  • Rebar3...

Pro

• Maintained
• Widely used
• Multiple backends
• Can probably run side to side
• OS Support

Cons

• Urgh language
• Make
• Medium Speed

CMake

Pro

• Maintained
• Widely used
• Multiple backends
• Can probably run side to side
• OS Support

Cons

• Urgh language
  • Lua really ?
• Make
• Medium Speed

Premake/XMake

Pro

• Maintained
• Good enough user base
• Fast
• Can run side to side (output to a build directory)
• OS Support

Cons

• Need to redo everything
• Java dependency

Bazel/Buck/...