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Build NAppGUI

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In Quick start we already saw how to compile and run the examples from the source code. Now we will focus on installing the SDK in order to start creating our own applications. We will start within the previously downloaded project folder:

 

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

1. Static linking

The following commands will generate the static link version of the libraries that make up NAppGUI.

 

// 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 -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix /usr/local/nappgui

For CMake versions lower than 3.13:

 

// Windows
mkdir build & cd build
cmake .. -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:/nappgui
cmake --build . --config Release
msbuild INSTALL.vcxproj /p:Configuration=Release

// macOS
mkdir build ; cd build
cmake .. -G Xcode -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/nappgui
cmake --build . --config Release
xcodebuild -target install -configuration Release

// Linux
mkdir build ; cd build
cmake .. -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/nappgui
cmake --build .
make install

2. Dynamic linking

If you prefer to generate NAppGUI in dynamic link mode (.dll, .so, .dylib), follow these instructions.

 

// 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 -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j 4
cmake --install build --config Release --prefix /usr/local/nappgui

For CMake versions lower than 3.13:

 

// Windows
mkdir build & cd build
cmake .. -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:/nappgui
cmake --build . --config Release
msbuild INSTALL.vcxproj /p:Configuration=Release

// macOS
mkdir build ; cd build
cmake .. -G Xcode -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/nappgui
cmake --build . --config Release
xcodebuild -target install -configuration Release

// Linux
mkdir build ; cd build
cmake .. -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=NO -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=YES -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/nappgui
cmake --build .
make install

If you use NAppGUI in DLL mode you must ensure that your future applications find the libraries, updating the PATH variable of each system.

 

// Windows
set PATH=C:\nappgui\bin;%PATH%

// Linux
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/nappgui/bin:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH$

// macOS
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/nappgui/bin:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH$

3. CMake Options

We indicate below all the CMake options supported by NAppGUI. In Generators, compilers and IDEs you will have more detailed information.

 

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 file CMakeLists.txt is located.
  • -B: Directory where the compilation projects and binaries will be generated.
  • -DNAPPGUI_DEMO=[YES|NO]: Generate the example applications. By default YES.
  • -DNAPPGUI_SHARED=[YES|NO]: Generates dynamic link libraries (.dll, .so, .dylib). By default NO.
  • -DNAPPGUI_WEB=[YES|NO]: Add native support for the WebView control. By default YES. See Disable WebView.
  • -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=[Debug|Release]: In mono-configuration generators, eg. Unix Makefiles, configure the build mode. By default Debug.
  • -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=[gcc|clang|cl]: On Unix Makefiles, MinGW, MSYS or Ninja select the C compiler.
  • -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=[g++|clang++|cl]: On Unix Makefiles, MinGW, MSYS, or Ninja, select the C++ compiler.
  • -A=[Win32|x64]: In Windows select the target architecture.
  • -DCMAKE_ARCHITECTURE=[x64|i386|arm|arm64]: On Linux or macOS, select the target architecture. By default, that of the compilation machine. arm is not supported on macOS. i386 is restricted on macOS. See macOS 32bits.
  • -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=12.4: In macOS, minimum version of the operating system supported. By default, the most modern one included in the compiler. See Xcode.
  • -DCMAKE_TOOLKIT=GTK3: In Linux it indicates the graphical toolkit used to render the interface elements. At the moment, only GTK3.
  • -DCMAKE_DISABLE_CRTDBG=YES: Disables the crtdbg library on Windows that controls memory leaks during execution. In principle, its use is not recommended, but it can be useful in projects that use third-party libraries with static or singleton objects.

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]
  • --build: Directory where the build projects are located (configuration parameter -B).
  • --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 the executables and dynamic libraries in [BuildDir]/[Debug|Release]/bin. 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]
  • --install: Directory where the binaries are located (configuration parameter -B).
  • --config: Configuration to be packaged (Debug or Release).
  • --prefix: Installation 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 (without the --prefix), 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
└── cmake
    ├── nappgui-config.cmake
    ├── ...
In the /bin folder the DLLs will be installed, if we have chosen the dynamic link.
Library names are different on Windows (XXXX.lib) than on Linux/macOS (libXXXX.a).
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