Mesa Developers Move Closer To Dropping Autotools Build System In Favor Of Meson

[shmerl]

Good. I'm waiting for Debian builds to start using Meson for Mesa packages.

[jpg44]

I really never liked autotools. It is basically a sprawling mess.

I would have preferred Mesa choose a standard build system like CMake rather than a niche one but any choice is still better than Autotools.

My problem is that in 10 years, it is likely going to be awkward to run meson itself (because the world would have moved on to Python 4), let alone use it to build Mesa. A build tool written in C or C++ is always more maintainable.

C/C++ is perhaps one of the worst languages for writing software, and the least maintainable . Every large C project has had major security problems. Well, if Python could support backwards compatibility it would be far, far better than C or C++. When Python 3 came about, they should have committed to backwards compatibility, at least having a compiler for Python 2 that can run on the same VM as python 3 and allow them to share dependandancies. i question the philosophy behind Python making a breaking change to the language. I also disagree with Python in numerous other instances in the manner it imposes politically driven restrictions such as the lack of increment operator and its jingoist attitude on goto, that because someone made some witty comment about goto, that goto is bad. People just parrot that over and over again, its like how they parrot X is bloated or whatever. There is nothing wrong with goto an goto code can be completely readable, in some cases better than structured conditionals. So I do not appreciate Pythons condescending attitude. Its important to note the whole point of a language is syntax sugar. If a language was not supposed to have syntax sugar, we would just code in in binary, If your not coding in binary, your using syntax sugar. Despite Python is head and shoulders above C. I however prefer Perl and its philosophies.

[microcode]

It's too bad that CMake didn't get better enough over the years to preempt meson. I really prefer the way CMake separates configuration and build systems from eachother. Makes supporting Visual Studio (without the trouble of installing it and/or maintaining a second build system) really easy.

[Weasel]

C/C++ is perhaps one of the worst languages for writing software, and the least maintainable . Every large C project has had major security problems.

Which has nothing to do with maintainability. Throwing random buzzwords doesn't make you look like you have a point, it only makes you look like an idiot.

There is nothing wrong with goto an goto code can be completely readable, in some cases better than structured conditionals.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree.

This is another reason C/C++ are sane, though.

[andreano]

* Meson submodule > CMake externalproject
* Meson submodule > Cargo dependency

[rene]

I've been cross compiling Mesa since March using Meson

I also have crossed compiled something, does not this user supplied config file thing is nice and pretty

[rene]

Good. I'm waiting for Debian builds to start using Meson for Mesa pacakges.

why though? as a user you will not see a difference at all

[AndyChow]

I don't care what anyone says: Autotools is awesome. Yeah, learning how to use the tool set is painful.

[FireBurn]

I also have crossed compiled something, does not this user supplied config file thing is nice and pretty

What?

[pal666]

meson seems to get more things right than any other build system.

that means you don't know good build systems