Re: [libgpiod]: Meson wrap for libgpiod

[Bartosz Golaszewski <brgl@xxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 4:24 AM Andrew Jeffery <andrew@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hi Bartosz,
>
> I use libgpiod as part of supporting various platforms in
> OpenBMC[1][2], among other things. OpenBMC generally targets ARM SoCs,
> and this means cross-compiling applications and their dependencies as
> part of the day-to-day work.
>
> While cross-compilation for (complex) userspace can be achieved using
> distro systems like buildroot and openembedded/bitbake or their SDKs,
> the meson build system[3] provides dependency resolution and (cross)
> builds as explicit features through subprojects[4] and the wrap package
> system[5]. In my experience, these features are compelling.
>
> To help me develop userspace applications that depend on libgpiod I've
> opened a pull-request against meson's wrap database[6] to add libgpiod
> support for v1.6.3:
>
> https://github.com/mesonbuild/wrapdb/pull/130
>
> Meson overlays this reimplementation of the build system along side the
> source as shipped in the tag, enabling meson dependency management
> without any impact on the upstream project. However, as you might
> guess, the wrap implementation is non-trivial as it transliterates the
> autotools scripts. While maintenance of this approach doesn't require
> any work on your part, it does have to adapt as the autotools scripts
> change. As such:
>
> How do you feel about switching from autotools to meson for the build
> system of libgpiod?
>
> If this is something you're interested in we can rebase the work in the
> pull-request above on libgpiod master and have something that's mostly
> ready. If you're not interested, I can at least carry on maintaining
> the wrap, but I felt like it was worth asking the question :)
>
> Interested in your thoughts!
>
> Andrew
>
> [1] https://www.openbmc.org/
> [2] https://github.com/openbmc/openbmc/
> [3] https://mesonbuild.com/
> [4] https://mesonbuild.com/Subprojects.html
> [5] https://mesonbuild.com/Wrap-dependency-system-manual.html
> [6] https://mesonbuild.com/Wrapdb-projects.html

Hey Andrew!

The libgpiod project has undergone significant changes recently. A new
major release (v2) is getting closer and I'm thinking that it may be
the right moment to rethink updating the build system. Would you be
willing to take a look at the current master branch and see if you can
swap our current autotools in favor of meson while keeping all the
current switches in place (translated to meson of course)?

I would be willing to accept meson into the master branch as the main
and only build system for libgpiod.

Thanks,
Bartosz