Xmake
Dev tools
build system
SHOW HN2019
How HN took it
6 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 6 critical, out of 24 comments about the project. Thread score +0.05.
Idea: 1 for, 2 againstDesign: 0 for, 3 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Well documented
From 3 comments
a developer post a well rounded tool with documentation that was built with a lot of care. The comment thread is mostly about other tools or people dismissing the work done…
soapdog on HNThis is really great work, great documentation. It looks like CMake, but with a full featured scripting language.
jhauris on HNThis looks thoughtfully created (and so documented!). I haven't gone through the entire doc and am not particularly clear but can you cross-build too? How would you run MSVC…
fxfan on HN
Lua scripting is easier to read than CMake
From 2 comments
For better or worse though, CMake has won! Many IDE's including Visual Studio can directly work with CMake files. In addition, even Google which is famous for doing things their…
RcouF1uZ4gsC on HNThis is really great work, great documentation. It looks like CMake, but with a full featured scripting language.
jhauris on HN
Objections
Adds yet another build system to an already crowded field
From 2 comments
Now we have N+1 incompatibile build systems.
unrealhoang on HNFor better or worse though, CMake has won! Many IDE's including Visual Studio can directly work with CMake files. In addition, even Google which is famous for doing things their…
RcouF1uZ4gsC on HN
Distributed builds and caching not yet implemented
From 1 comment
Distributed builds are being planned, but not yet implemented. You can see https://github.com/xmake-io/xmake/issues/274
waruqi on HN
Install via piped remote script is a security concern
From 1 comment
Don’t ever install software by piping arbitrary remote scripts into bash.
kayamon on HN
Requests
Automatic dependency detection between source files
From 1 comment
What I miss about these tools is some "relatively" straightforward dependency detection and generation. That is, I have a bunch of .cpp files which need to be compiled into…
claudius on HN
Distributed build and caching support
From 1 comment
Does it have any distributed build or caching support? That is my minimum bar for a C++ build system. ccache and distcc/icecc are too limited, you want something integrated with…
Game_Ender on HN
Python-based build scripting
From 1 comment
Im not a fan of LUA. The syntax of XMake.lua reads somewhat like CMake but easier to understand. What I'd really like to see is a build system in Python (3!) utilizing objects…
intea on HN
Questions
How does cross-compilation work, e.g. MSVC on Linux
From 1 comment
This looks thoughtfully created (and so documented!). I haven't gone through the entire doc and am not particularly clear but can you cross-build too? How would you run MSVC…
fxfan on HN
Is the build hermetic
From 1 comment
Does it produce hermetic builds?
euyyn on HN
Alternatives named
CMake
From 2 comments
For better or worse though, CMake has won! Many IDE's including Visual Studio can directly work with CMake files. In addition, even Google which is famous for doing things their…
RcouF1uZ4gsC on HNcmake is NOT a build utility. It is dependency tracking and configuration utility
Iwan-Zotow on HN
Meson
From 1 comment
Meson[0] has been gaining in popularity and has migration tools for cmake projects. Large projects such as systemd and gnome[1] have migrated or have been migrating for years [0]…
2bluesc on HN
SCons
From 1 comment
Yes, xmake is more similar to scons, not cmake.
waruqi on HN
Conan
From 1 comment
What rubs me the wrong way is that a lot of build systems have a fatal combination of unfamiliar syntax and complete lack of debuggability. Conan and Meson seem so much better in…
_pmf_ on HN