NBuild

1. Motivation and features
2. License

nbuild is a continuous integration system oriented to C/C++ projects based on CMake. Unlike other solutions, this is not a general purpose one. nbuild focuses on compiling and testing C/C++ projects through a heterogeneous computer network, nothing more. We can see it as a macro-compiler or a compiler orchestrator. It is used daily in the development of NAppGUI-SDK, whose reports are available through the BUILDS tab on the project website. It runs as a command line tool:

nbuild -n network.json -w workflow.json

network.json: Build network.
workflow.json: Workflows.

1. Motivation and features

The first lines of nbuild were written in 2015, during the development of NAppGUI-SDK, as a small utility to launch remote compilation commands via ssh. Over time it has evolved taking on features typical of conventional CI/CD systems. There are several reasons why NAppGUI did not adopt any of these CI/CD but they can be summarized as: Complexity of deployment, avoidance of scripting, avoidance of the cloud and guaranteed lifetime operation on legacy platforms. All this together with the ease and power provided by the C+SSH tandem to implement any current or future need, has been enough motivation to keep improving this tool over the years. The main features of nbuild can be summarized as:

Written in ANSI-C90, using the NAppGUI-SDK itself.
Compilation, testing and packaging of C/C++ projects based on CMake.
Oriented to Open-Source projects, where the source code is distributed.
Minimal configuration in the nodes (runners) where it is only necessary to install SSH, CMake and the compilers.
No cloud support or Internet connection required. Works on a local area network.
It runs a fixed function pipeline, so there is no need to program scripts. Just indicate, inside workflow.json, which code we want to compile and for which platforms.
There are no control panels. It runs as a command line tool.
Every project can define its own build network.
Works with legacy nodes such as Ubuntu12, WindowsXP or MacOSX Snow Leopard.
A relatively large workflow can be divided into several stages of different priority, obtaining partial results as quickly as possible.
Multithreading. Control different nodes in parallel.
Scheduler. Matches jobs with available nodes.
Non-blocking. The nbuild execution never interfere with or block new changes to the repository.
nboot. Ability to turn on/off machines on demand, at the moment they are needed.
ndoc. Generation of documentation associated with the project (HTML5/LaTeX/PDF).
nreport. Generates web reports with the result of each compilation.

2. License

nbuild is an Open Source project and is published under the MIT license. The source code is available at GitHub.