MagiCBuild is a build framework that provides high-level functionality for compiling a software product from source code. It is based on GNU Make and consists of a framework of makefiles.
The most important feature of MagiCBuild is that all output and intermediate files are written to an output directory tree that is totally separate from source code tree. This helps keep the source tree completely clean from trash such as object files and executables. After compilation, the executable binaries, libraries, headers, shared files, and documentation can be "installed" from the output directory to actual installation directory hierarchy.
See the MagiCBuild User’s Guide (PDF) for detailed description and instructions.
MagiCBuild contains a configuration tool, configure, that can be used to automatically detect relevant features of the platform such as availability and version numbers of required software packages, output and installation directories, and machine architecture.
The configuration tool is a shell script, which makes extending its functionality very easy.
The basic usage of the configuration tool is compatible with GNU Autoconf.
This similarity makes its use easy for open source software developers.
An example of using the configuration and build system is provided in the test subdirectory of the MagiCBuild distribution package.
Features
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Compiling C++ applications
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Compilation output tree separate from source tree
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Building reference documentation with Doxygen
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Installing and uninstalling
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Cleaning up the output directory
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Creation of source code distribution packages
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Configuration tool with GNU Autoconf compatibility
Limitations
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No installation to system directories
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Only GNU/Linux platform currently supported
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Only C++ compilation currently supported with gcc
For a more complete list of limitations, see the chapter Known bugs and limitations in the User’s Guide.
MagiCBuild currently has the following system requirements:
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GNU/Linux operating system
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GNU Make 3.79.1 or newer
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Doxygen (optional)
Platforms
The following Linux distributions have been tested:
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Red Hat Linux 9
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Mandrake 9.1
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Debian 2.2 + upgrades
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Library General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public License along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB. If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.