View source for User:Gszorc/Build frontend shootout

This article examines alternatives to Makefile's for containing mozilla-central's build system definition. See discussion at https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/mozilla.dev.platform/SACOnl-avMs

==Goals==

We want a frontend language whose output is a giant data structure. The data structure will be consumed by a generator to produce files that actually build the tree.

The produced data structure can come about many different ways. The frontend files themselves could be a data structure (e.g. JSON). They could be scripts that call built-in functions which register elements with the data structure. They could be scripts that populate specific variables whose values are read post execution.

==Comparison==

===Python (data oriented)===

We use Python as the frontend language. We try to make it is *data oriented* as possible. By that, we mean we value static data structures over function calls.

<code><pre>
CPP_SOURCES = ['foo.cpp', 'bar.cpp']
CPP_FLAGS = ['-DFOO=1']

if ENV.WIN32:
    CPP_SOURCES += ['win32.cpp']
</pre></code>

===Python (procedural oriented)===

In this flavor of Python, all relevant tasks are done with calls to built-in functions.

<code><pre>
CPP_SOURCES('foo.cpp', 'bar.cpp')
CPP_FLAGS('-DFOO=1')

if ENV.WIN32:
    CPP_SOURCES('win32.cpp')
</pre></code>