[Boost-build] Faber: a new Boost.Build Python frontend

Subject: [Boost-build] Faber: a new Boost.Build Python frontend
From: Stefan Seefeld (stefan_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-05-26 18:33:39

Hello all,

as some of you know, I have been working on a new Python frontend to
Boost.Build for the last couple of months. I have taken all the feedback
I gathered over time and incorporated it into my work.

The result is a new tool that I believe is ready for a first serious
review. I call it "Faber".

Project home: https://github.com/stefanseefeld/faber

Online documentation (still pretty sparse, mind you):
https://stefanseefeld.github.io/faber/doc/html/index.html

This code uses the original bjam engine (modified a bit to suit my
needs) with all of the Jam support stripped off. The frontend is fully
rewritten (in Python).

While there are lots of things that are missing (or need improvements),
there already are quite a number of highlights to point out:

* Faber works on GNU/Linux, OSX, and Windows (and is CI-tested on those
platforms).

* Faber works with Python 2 and Python 3

* A few compilers are set up and are demonstrated to work, at least for
basic usage (GCC, Clang, MSVC), including cross-compilation.

* Faber has basic autoconf-like configuration support built in (see the
`config` example in
https://github.com/stefanseefeld/faber/blob/develop/examples/config/fabscript)

* Faber provides built-in support for test execution (see the `test`
example in
https://github.com/stefanseefeld/faber/blob/develop/examples/test/fabscript)

I'm now working on a slightly more complex case: build logic for
Boost.Python, which will no doubt highlight a few things I need to fix /
add.

I welcome any and all feedback, as I do hope that the boost community
will consider this as an alternative to the existing `b2` tool.

Best,

        Stefan

-- 
      ...ich hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin...