Re: A proposal for a modern build-system

From: Boris Kolpackov (boris_at_[hidden])
Date: 2024-03-22 13:43:10

Andrey Semashev via Boost <boost_at_[hidden]> writes:

> Compare this to b2:
> 
> <quote>
> exe app : main.cpp ;
> </quote>
> 
> or CMake:
> 
> <quote>
> add_executable(app main.cpp)
> </quote>
> 
> or Meson:
> 
> <quote>
> project('simple', 'cpp')
> executable('app', 'main.cpp')
> </quote>

or build2:

<quote>
exe{app}: cxx{main}
</quote>

> I'm not very familiar with modules, but it looks to me that this
> technology is very far from wide adoption. More than that, it looks like
> it is very demanding on the developers [...]

I think `import std;`, which I found surprisingly usable[1] in Clang 18
and libc++, could provide a lot of benefit while demanding little form
developers.

> So yeah, modules are a mixed bag, and I don't see support for modules as
> a worthy goal in the immediate future. If modules are the only benefit
> HMake promises to provide, that's a weak selling point, IMO.

What would be a strong selling point of a new build system for Boost,
in your opinion (or anyone else's, for that matter)?

[1] https://github.com/boris-kolpackov/async_simple/tree/CXX20Modules-build2