Piter Py #4

 

Meson is a new build system that has been designed from the ground up to be both fast and easy to use. It has been adopted by many large software projects such as GSstreamer, systemd, X.org and Enlightenment and Gnome desktops. Meson is implemented entirely in Python. To maximize portability it does not even have any dependencies outside Python's standard library. Originally Python was chosen because it is a good language for prototyping but during development it was discovered that Python is a good match for a build system's requirements. In this talk we shall look into what a build system actually does and what is needed to implement one. Then we shall look at the internals of Meson and how it uses Python. Some comparisons to other build systems is also made, demonstrating how efficient use of Python makes implementing a cross platform tool simpler than with most other languages.

 

 

 

Jussi Pakkanen has worked on all layers of the modern Linux stack from web services down to the kernel. His projects have ranged from mail sorting to slot machines, mobile SDKs and network security. He is the original creator and project lead of the Meson build system. When not working on computers he may be found drawing or watching bad movies.