Build NAppGUI from source code

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1. Build static libraries
2. Build shared libraries
3. Configuration options
4. Build Options
5. Packaging and installation

In Quick start we already saw how to compile and run the examples from the source code. In this chapter and in Compilers and IDEs we will delve into the compilation, installation and portability process between platforms. Once the SDK is installed, you can continue at Create new application.

1. Build static libraries

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/frang75/nappgui_src.git
cd nappgui_src

// Windows
cmake -S . -B build -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO
cmake --build build --config Release -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix C:/nappgui

// macOS
cmake -G Xcode -S . -B build -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO
cmake --build build --config Release -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix /usr/local/nappgui

// Linux
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix /usr/local/nappgui

2. Build shared libraries

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/frang75/nappgui_src.git
cd nappgui_src

// Windows
cmake -S . -B build -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES
cmake --build build --config Release -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix C:/nappgui

// macOS
cmake -G Xcode -S . -B build -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES
cmake --build build --config Release -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix /usr/local/nappgui

// Linux
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES
cmake --build build -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix /usr/local/nappgui

3. Configuration options

Initially, CMake must prepare the build projects.

cmake -G [Generator] -S [SourceDir] -B [BuildDir] [Options]

-G: CMake Generators. If omitted, the value of CMAKE_GENERATOR or a default will be used.
-S: Directory where the NAppGUI CMakeLists.txt file is located.
-B: Directory where the compilation projects and binaries will be generated.
-DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO: Does not generate the example applications. Only the essential SDK libraries.
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release: In mono-configuration generators, eg. Unix Makefiles, configure to compile in release mode. Default: Debug.
-DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES: Generate dynamic link libraries (.dll, .so, .dylib), instead of static ones (default).

4. Build Options

Once the scripts have been generated in the previous step, we launch the compilation using CMake.

cmake --build [BuildDir] --config [Debug|Release] -j [NumProcs]

BuildDir: Directory where build projects are located (-B in configuration).
--config: In multi-configuration generators, eg. Visual Studio indicates which configuration to compile (Debug or Release).
-j: Number of concurrent compilation processes or threads.

After compilation we will have in [BuildDir]/[Debug|Release]/bin the generated executables and dynamic libraries. In /lib the static libraries.

5. Packaging and installation

After compilation we package the binaries and headers in order to have them available when creating our own applications.

cmake --install [BuildDir] --config [Debug|Release] --prefix [PackagePath]

BuildDir: Directory where build projects are located (-B in configuration).
--config: Configuration to be packaged (Debug or Release).
PackagePath: Package destination directory. If omitted, CMake will use the default system directories: /usr/local on UNIX or C:/Program Files/${PROJECT_NAME} on Windows.

To install in system directories, we may have to run cmake install in administrator mode.

In the destination path we will have this file and directory structure:

nappgui
├── bin
│   ├── nrc
├── inc
│   ├── core
│   │   ├── array.h
│   │   ├── arrpt.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── draw2d
│   │   ├── color.h
│   │   ├── dctx.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── geom2d
│   │   ├── box2d.h
│   │   ├── box2d.hpp
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── gui
│   │   ├── button.h
│   │   ├── cell.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── inet
│   │   ├── base64.h
│   │   ├── httpreq.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── nappgui.h
│   ├── osapp
│   │   ├── osapp.def
│   │   ├── osapp.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── osbs
│   │   ├── bfile.h
│   │   ├── bmutex.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── osgui
│   │   ├── osbutton.h
│   │   ├── oscombo.h
│   │   ├── ...
│   ├── sewer
│   │   ├── arch.hxx
│   │   ├── blib.h
│   │   ├── ...
├── lib
│   ├── libcore.a
│   ├── libdraw2d.a
│   ├── libgeom2d.a
│   ├── libgui.a
│   ├── libinet.a
│   ├── libosapp.a
│   ├── libosbs.a
│   ├── libosgui.a
│   ├── libsewer.a
└── prj
    ├── CMakeTarget.cmake
    ├── ...
    └── version.txt