Published on: 2017-10-24T15:25:19+00:00
In a conversation on the bitcoin-dev mailing list, Kosta Zertsekel expressed his curiosity about why Bitcoin Core uses Automake as its build system instead of cmake, which is generally considered to be better. Jeffrey Paul responded by stating that Automake is the standard and does not require any additional installation on most systems. He further asked Zertsekel about the specific problem he was trying to solve for bitcoin-core.Zertsekel provided quotes about the benefits of CMake build tools and inquired if there had been any discussion about choosing the best build system for Bitcoin Core. Thomas, another participant in the conversation, suggested that unless CMake can address a specific problem without causing other issues, there is no need to change the current build system. He also encouraged Zertsekel to convert bitcoin-core to CMake and demonstrate its advantages before proposing its adoption by developers.Although Jeffrey Paul defended the use of Automake due to its status as a standard and easy accessibility on most systems, there have been ongoing discussions about replacing Automake with more advanced build systems like Meson and Ninja. These alternatives were specifically developed to replace Automake and have already been adopted by companies and projects such as JetBrains and the KDE Project.In summary, Kosta Zertsekel questioned the decision to use Automake as the build system for Bitcoin Core, suggesting that CMake would be a better choice. While some participants defended the use of Automake as the standard, others acknowledged the potential benefits of alternative build systems. The discussion highlights the importance of considering specific problems and demonstrating the advantages of a new build system before proposing its adoption.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T22:03:32.997185+00:00